Mi Corazon
by FallingWords
Summary: He left three years ago, but fate won't let it end there.
1. Chapter 1

"Jude, if you don't hurry up, we're going to miss our plane. And I got a hot new two piece I'm dying to show off." Sadie had her two massive suitcases flanking her sides. "Sade- You always have something to show off. And I'm—Ahh!" Jude fell and slipped down the second half of the stair case with her overstuffed suitcase.

"I don't even know why I'm going with you guys, I'm pale as could be. The sun and I aren't exactly BFF ya know, and honestly, thanks for the invite, but Miami with you and Kwest? Awkward as hell." Jude looked exasperated and frazzled in a pile at the bottom of the stairs. Sadie went over to help her sister up. Kneeling down to Jude, she held her sisters hands in her own.

"Look, Jude- You have been holing yourself up in the studio for too long. Everyone loves you, your third CD outsold your first two combined, but you're like a ghost. You hardly make public appearances, you haven't toured since… Jude, it's time to start living again. Music is your life, but what is your life worth if you don't experience it, or have someone to share it with?"

"I had someone who I shared it with, it was my life, and then it all disappeared. Took off on a plane, and left." A long pause filled the air, and Jude and Sadie just sat there looking at each other. So much hurt and betrayal in each of their eyes. How was it that two sisters would be so hurt and betrayed by the same man? "Well," Sadie drew herself together, composed and poised as usual, "Today is a new day. You're going to love Miami Jude Harrison, and you will worship the sun as I do." Sadie broke out into a bright smiling helping Jude up. "Come on, our Taxi isn't going to wait forever, and Kwest is already at that the airport. So, Miami, watch out because here we come!"

* * *

When you're young, it's easy to be enamored with the simple things in life, butterflies, imaginary games, a "date" with your father. It doesn't take much. Especially for Cora. The light of her father's life, she was the epitome of a daddy's girl. And since he had returned home 3 years ago, her young and innocent heart exploded with love for her daddy. Though she was young, she understood his explanation for his long-term absence in her earlier life. She didn't remember much of it anyways, he came back when she was three. Nanna took good care of her, and she was spoiled beyond belief. Daddy had to work to take care of her, and at the time, he had to work far away. But he was home now, and he promised not to leave her again.

It was early, even for Cora but she was ready to start her day. Kicking the covers off of her and her stuffed bunny she rolled out of bed. Clutching the hand of the bunny she trooped through the house to Daddy's room. Reaching for the handle, she slowly opened up the door. As to not make any noise, she tip-toed inside. It was so dark, Daddy's room was always so dark. A mischievous grin crossed the young girls face as she made her way over the heavy black drapes of the man's room. Cora carefully set the bunny down, putting a finger to her lips to signal bunny to not make a peep. Grabbing the drapes in with two little fists she ran across the length of the window flooding the room with light.

Random grumbles and protests of the sleepy man were heard and Cora giggled running to her Daddy's bed. "Cora Marie! What do you think you're doing at this hour?" Crawling on to the bed next to her father her dark eyes shone with the sun reflecting off of them. "Morning, Daddy!" the little girl placed a kiss on his cheek. "It's hardly morning, why don't we close the blinds and go back to sleep?" He shielding his eyes against the intrusive sun and tried to burrow into the covers on his bed. "No! Daddy, I want to go to the park today, can we go, pleeeasseee?" The young girl's eyes begged. Unable to resist the pleas of his daughter, he conceded. "Alright, Alright, Let me take care of some things with work, and then we'll go. Deal?"

"Deal!"

"Okay, why don't you go get ready?"

Cora bounded off the bed, grabbed her bunny and ran out of the room giggling. Her father's piercing blue eyes followed her out of the room. Flopping back onto his pillow he let out a sigh. She was a constant reminder of the decision he made 3 years ago. He didn't regret it. Work ruled his life, he denied his past, and the drama of the music industry killed him. She killed him. He missed it though, but seeing Cora and her delightful smile made it worth it. Pushing the covers away, he sat up and swung his legs around to the floor, almost as if to stabilize himself for the rest of the day. Inhaling deeply, he readied himself for another day of this life. A life he choose, but one that never seemed to fit quite right.


	2. Chapter 2

Sunlight flooded Jude's room. "Uuughhhh. Five more minutes mom" she threw her pillow over her head in a failed attempt to block out the light.

"Last time I checked, I was not your mom."

"Kwest, do you not have a heart? It's so damn early." Pulling the pillow out of her grips, he laughed. "Get up rock star, we have a lunch date today."

Disgruntled she Jude sat up and folded her arms thoroughly annoyed from being woken up so early. "It's only a date if there are two parties interacting…..so it'll be you and Sadie and me. That does not constitute a date."

"That is where you're wrong m'dear. It's Sadie and I, and then my dashing younger cousin and you."

"Kwest- no. I'm here on vacation. I don't need the stress of entertaining someone while you and Sadie make those…faces at each other."

"Man, we don't make faces." Jude made mock kissy faces to him. "There are faces, trust me." Throwing off the comforter, it was a sign of surrender. "That's my girl! We'll leave in an hour, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Hour, I get to play pawn in your sick dating game. I'm really not interested in getting involved, I'm really trying to focus on my mu-"

"Your music. I know, your music is fine, why not focus on your life for once? It's time to move on, Jude." Dismissing him, she grabbed her towel and made her way to the bathroom.

'From now on…separate rooms. None of the suite business.' Reaching for the faucet, she turned the water as hot as she could without burning herself. 'I do have a life, I'm just really busy with my music, it's important to me.' This scenario was all too common, Jude's justification for her hermit like lifestyle the past three years. Stepping out of her pajamas, she stepped into the scalding water and let it rinse over her, she hoped that maybe this time, the water would be hot enough, and she could scrub hard enough to wash away her past, her hurt, and the pain and baggage she carried around.

* * *

Freshly showered and dressed, Tom walked out of his room to the delicious smell of breakfast cooking and coffee being brewed. As he made his way to the kitchen, he stopped at the bar, where Cora was sitting and coloring in a Disney princess coloring book. He ruffled "her hair and kissed her on the cheek "Mi Corazon". Cora giggled, like she always did "y tu papi". My heart, Tom would call her and she would always reply 'and you, daddy.' 

Walking into the kitchen, he opened one of the cabinets to get a mug off a shelf. "Morning Sandra, you're a life saver, have I ever told you that?"

"Only every morning, but it makes me feel needed and appreciated." She handed him a plate with a fresh warm pastry and cut tropical fruits. "Cora, would you like some more juice?"

"No thank you Ms .Sandra." Cora didn't bother to look up, but was concentrating intently on coloring near the hem of Sleeping Beauty's dress. As she finished she set down her crayon in a declaratory manner and proclaimed "Done!" Carefully tearing it out of her book, she hopped off of her stool and happily trotted over to the refrigerator. It was already plastered in her drawings and coloring pages. Most were of fairytales, Princesses and Princes who were riding off into the sunset. Cora was enamored with fairytales and the imaginary. Stretching to reach a free magnet, she called out to her father.

"Daddy?"

"Yes Corazon?"

"Daddy, where is your princess?" Cora asked innocently as she situated her newest creation, making sure it was prominently displayed amongst the others. Sandra froze in the kitchen and her eyes darted to Tom, his newspaper sunk down to reveal his eyes, traces of sadness could be seen. Answerless Tom concerned Cora and she walked out of the kitchen, "Daddy?" Tom snapped out of it, rapidly blinking away the images that were apparently flashing past his eyes. "Corazon, com'ere." The little girl happily bounded towards her father and hopped up in his lap. "You are my princess, and that's all I need." He kissed the top of her head.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are, go put on some shoes and we can leave, okay?" He told Cora, folding his newspaper and finishing off his coffee. The little girl slid off his lap and ran to her room to get ready.

"You know," Sandra spoke up from the kitchen, "She has a point. I have a couple of friends. Single and pretty, and I can just call one of them up."

"Sandra, work and my daughter. That's all I have time for in my life right now. Anything else would hurt too much. And it wouldn't be fair to whomever I got involved with."

Wiping her hands off on her apron, she stood with her hands on her hips. "Tom, don't lie to me like that. You spend all of your free time that could be with someone else alone. Alone if your dark room, in an eternal state of depression. It's time to move on and let go."

"I killed her, I know it. She hasn't been seen for 3 years. I can't just let that go." He stood from the table and brought his dishes to the sink. "Thank you, but I can't do it." His voice was full of pain and suffering. Though Tom made the right decision, he wouldn't stop beating himself up and torturing himself for what he did to Jude. On the brink of a blossoming relationship, he chickened out and flew to Miami. Cora needed her father, but her father needed his life. He picked up and left everything he knew in Canada, unable to believe that his past and present could ever fit together.

"I'm ready daddy!" Cora's voice carried from by the front door. "I'll be there in a second-" Looking at Sandra, he smiled weakly. "Maybe," He hesitated, "and sooner than later, I'll ask you to call. But not right now." Sandra smiled back, it was obvious she cared for Tom and the wellbeing of him and his daughter, "Just let me know, I want you to get your life back." Leaving the kitchen he turned back, "I'll never get it back, but I can at least try to make this one work."

* * *

Jude looked into the mirror as she applied the final touches to her makeup. Her critical eye scanned over her appearance head to toe. A voice from behind made her jump.

"You know, for not wanting to go to lunch, you sure are making quite the effort." Sadie smiled as she adjusted a strap on Jude's top.

"Well, I haven't seen the light of day in three years, well, you people would like to believe so I figured I'd make an effort, whatdaya think?" Jude spun around and struck a pose. Sadie laughed, "very nice cover girl. So I take it you're ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose, just let me grab my bag and we can go…oh. Where are we going?" Jude walked around her room, throwing her cell phone, chapstick, and other random essentials she might need into her purse. "It's this great little café by a park, it'll be fun."

"Great." A forced smile was plastered on Jude's face as Sadie grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

"So you're an engineer, like Kwest?" Jude attempted to sound interested.

"Oh, no. Well, yes. I am an engineer, but a real one. I work with weapons testing for the government. It's actually a very important job, and if any one on the team makes a single mistake, it could be detrimental…." Jude had to fight herself to stay attentive and interested on this pathetic man's ramblings. "….and so my job has been of great importance with the recent conflict and all." Kites were flying in the park across the street, parents were with their children, people playing fetch with dogs, it was a beautiful summer day and she had to listen to this pretentious man drone on and on about his boring job as an engineer.

"….Jude?" At the sound of her name, she snapped back to reality. "Right, sorry. That sounds…incredibly…important, Jordan. You must be very proud of the work you do." Pushing her chair back from the table she started to get up. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go stretch my legs." Leaving the table, she grabbed her purse and walked across the street to the park. The bright colors soared in the sky in random shapes, some looked like animals, and others were traditional kites. Finding a vacant bench, she sat down and basked in the warmth the sun was providing. Parents were playing with their young children, friends played Frisbee, everyone was so damn happy here.

One little girl in particular caught Jude's eye. She was a small little thing, but full of energy with a smile plastered onto her face. "Daddy! Look!" She called out, looking somewhere behind her. As she was searching for her father, she failed to see a rock in her path and stumbled over it. She tumbled down to the ground and her beautiful kite came crashing down. Without thinking, Jude sprinted from her bench towards the little girl. "What type of father doesn't keep an eye on his daughter at all times" She spat under her breath. Once she was by the little girl she kneeled down.

"Oh hun, don't cry." Tears flooded the little girl's eyes. "Are you okay?" Jude asked, wiping the tears away and then looking at the scrape on her knee. "Here, I have something. I'm pretty darn accident prone myself." Jude rooted through her purse, she always had a stash of antiseptic wipes because of her tendency to trip on sidewalks, scrape herself, she was a danger to herself. Finding them, she tore open a packet and looked up at the girl. "This may sting a little, okay?" The young girl nodded and bit her lower lip. Gently dabbing the wipe against the injury she whimpered a little.

"There, all better. You know, you're a lot tougher than me. I always cry like a baby when I have to use these." The little girl smiled. "What's your name?"

Sniffling, she managed to get out "Cora."

"Well Cora, that is a beautiful name. Who are you here with? I want to make sure you get to them safely." Jude looked around, frustrated that still no one had shown up to claim this girl.

"My daddy. I wanted to go to the park today, but now I ruined my kite." Cora was busy pulling the string to drag the kite towards her. It looked all but demolished.

"Cora!" Both Jude and Cora looked up to see a man running towards them. "Daddy!" Cora cried out, a smile broke out onto her face. With Cora's father nearing, Jude decided to leave before she started screaming at his and his apparent lack of parenting skills. "It was nice to meet you Cora, be careful next time." Jude stood up and brushed the grass off of her jeans and walked away.

"Cora, I'm so sorry baby." Tom kneeled down next to her, stoking her hair. Are you okay?" he asked, looking her over. She silently nodded, tears welled in her again though. "Corazon, don't lie to me. What's wrong?" With her eyes downcast she pointed to the kite next to her. "Oh honey, don't worry about that, we can always fix it or get a new one."

"Really?" Cora instantly perked up and threw her arms around her father.

"Of course, as long as you're okay. That's all that matters to me." Tom looked up and noticed the stranger who helped his daughter was leaving the park. "Cora, did she tell you her name?" She shook her head no. "Okay, can you go sit on that bench, and I'll be right back." Cora stood up, picked up the pieces of her kite and made her way over to the bench.

Tom jogged trying to catch up with the stranger who helped his daughter. "Hey, wait a sec!" Jude kept walking, ignoring him. She was nice to the little girl, but she was not going to hold out on this jerk that wasn't paying attention to his own daughter. She picked up her pace to try and get back to the café. Tom started a little faster and eventually caught up, reaching out to grab her shoulder and stop her. Without turning around Jude froze. "If I turn around, I'm going to rip you a new one for not watching your daughter. She's fine, we're fine, and I'm going to go."

"I just wanted to say thank you. I got distracted and lost her for a second." His tone was full of defeat and concern for Cora." Jude shrugged off his hand and continued walking. "Thank you, I mean it."

Jude stopped again, a few feet ahead, "You know, if you really wanted to thank me, you would have kept and eye on her. I'm not from around here," She finally turned to face him "But there-" Jude froze. She had to be imagining this. "…you're welcome." Spinning around she started to sprint for the café. Unfortunately for her, Tommy was faster.

"Jude!" desperation and anxiety filled his voice. He grabbed her arm as she tried to escape. She was here. His everything, and she was running.

"No, let go of me." Jude tried to suppress all the rage she felt looking at him. "You're dead, Tom. You're dead to me."

"Jude, I had no choice. I had to come back and-"

"Well you made that decision; but I never want to see you again." With tears in her eyes she turned her back to Tommy and walked away, this time she was the one who got to leave him behind.


	4. Chapter 4

From the point of view of any spectator in the park, it would have been obvious the drama that ensued between the two. You didn't have to be within earshot to notice the tense bodies and threatened body language. Jude shook her head slowly and walked away, Tommy looked defeated and as he retreated back to the bench he had left Cora, his posture gave way to his broken spirit.

But with the park was full of sunshine and high spirits and no one noticed the skirmish between the two adults. The shining sun seemed to mock Tommy as he made his way back. His mind was swarming with questions, what she was doing here, how she was doing, why she disappeared from the spotlight like that, why she was so angry at him, if she could ever forgive him for what he did. But it seemed like the fates had other cruel plans, to throw her into his life, his new life for a split second before ripping her out of his reach forever.

Finally back at the bench, he sat down next to his daughter. She was a smart girl for her young age of five. Her inquisitive eyes noted her father's changed demeanor and she feigned a yawn. "Daddy, I'm getting sleepy." Tommy, looking down at her with a half hearted smile cocked his head to the side. "We practically just got here."

"I know…but…" She paused to think "You were right, it was early and now I'm sleepy." She fidgeted on the bench just like any young child would as they lied.

Not completely believing her he acquiesced to her request. "Alright, let's get you back home then." Relieved for the opportunity to go back to his dark room, draw the drapes closed and break down again, he collected the shattered kite and threw it carelessly in the garbage can as he and Cora left the park hand in hand.

Physically shaking her encounter off, Jude made her way back to the small café she should have never left. Jordan the weapons engineer would have been better than the hell she threw herself into. She freaked out. She wanted nothing more than to cry, and have him hold her and go back to the way things had been before he left after her 17th birthday but he ruined that. And the questions, was that girl Cora his daughter? He never actually said it, but she made the blind assumption…who was the mother? And why was he absent for the first part of the girl's life? Blindly crossing the street the squeal of tires and someone laying on a horn snapped her out of daze. Jumping, her eyes widened in sheer terror as the SUV stopped a few feet short of where she was. Like a deer in headlights she darted away back to the table Sadie and Kwest were sharing.

Swallowing harshly, she looked around "Where did Jordan go?" Jude asked feigning interest. Sadie looked apologetically at Kwest and rubbed his back then glanced back at Jude. "He chewed out Kwest because he never told him that you were a musician, and he should have known better that you two would have nothing in common…so he politely excused himself to his drab cubicle in a taupe colored office to play with numbers and simulated weapons."

Jude let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God, I can't deal with anymore….crap today." Kwest smiled apologetically but looked confused. "What crap, it was just a bad lunch, the day is hardly over…..you look a little frantic, you okay?"

"Umm…yeah, I'm fine." Jude reactively smoothed her hair and looked across to the park in time to see a man who looked remarkably like Tommy drive by in an SUV. She blinked a few time and shook her head. Tommy in a "safe" car. Hah. Returning her attention to Sadie and Kwest, they both looked perplexed and knew she was hiding something.

"Really guys, while I was at the park, there was a girl who hurt herself and her idiot father…or whatever wasn't around when it happened and we got into a fight over it. He should have been watching her- that, that…uuggh." She faked a smile and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly "See, nothing serious. So…are we done here?"

Kwest, oblivious to Jude's lies now nodded and left money on the table to cover the bill. The trio got up and left to go back to the car. Sadie watched Jude out of the corner of her eye; she didn't completely buy her story. She wouldn't get so worked up over some random kid and guy. It didn't all add up, but Sadie didn't know what to make of the rest of story.

The car ride back to the hotel was quiet as the car radio played manufactured song after manufactured song. Jude looked out the window preoccupied and lost in her own thoughts, torn between wanting to run all over the city and find Tommy and trying to push him and the little girl out of her head.

* * *

With Cora tucked safely into bed she quickly drifted off to sleep. 'Maybe she was tired all along." Tom leaned in and kissed her forehead. Standing up he sighed and made his way to the living room where he threw himself on the nearest couch.

Observing his surroundings, the room didn't look like it belonged to the once famed boy band member. It was fairly conservative and most definitely child proofed. Shaking his head, he quietly laughed to himself. He had no one to blame but himself for this, not that he minded, but at 27, it wasn't exactly the life he had imagined himself. He missed the life of a producer. The late nights in the studio, socializing and promoting his artists, making music. The closest he had to that now was being on a silent member on a board of executives with a record label in Miami. He missed the hands on aspect of his former career. Most of all, he missed making music with her. The electricity in the studio was obvious to anyone who knew them and their work. People had known better than to get between Tommy Quincy and Jude Harrison while they worked. The chemistry they had at work was undeniable and before he left had been heading in a new direction. One that scared him and excited him all the same.

"Don't kill yourself with thought, Mr. Quincy."

"Ha. Too late Sandra." She came around the couch and plopped down on the opposite end. "So…why so somber? And back so soon….I thought you and Cora were going to the park?"

"We went, we saw, we conquered….okay so not so much. I got distracted for a second, and lost sight of her. Next thing I knew she had fallen and was sitting on the ground and a girl next to her. I felt like an ass, Sandra. Can't even take care of my own damn daughter."

"Tom, come on. You know you're the best thing in her life. Don't beat yourself up over one little mistake- but there was a girl? Was she cute? Did you get her number?" Sandra curled her legs under her, poised like a typical girl to gossip.

"You never quit, huh?" Tommy laughed.

"Not until you're hitched. So, details, details. Time to share."

"Yeah, she was cute. But she wouldn't have given me her number if I begged…" His voice trailed off and he started to pull back into his reclusive shell. His eyes downcast and sober.

"Ugh, Tom you didn't tell her she was 'boobiful' did you? Because the last time you did that you were smacked. And really, it serves you right to stare at a girls chest like-"

"No Sandra, that's not it." She stopped short, and looked at him curiously. He had been pretty quiet about women in his life now, none of them ever lasted more than a casual date or two. "What was it then?" Finally looking up, his lips curled into a small, sad smile. "The girl, it was her."


	5. Chapter 5

_Tommy sat on the floor of the living room, small Cora had been tucked away in her bed several hours earlier, and he had been sitting on the floor with a glass and a bottle of vodka sitting on the coffee table. It had been one of those days. He had been getting better over the past few months, it had been a year since he left, but there were still times when he would go to the grocery store and see her as she turned a corner. Or getting gas he would see her driving off. It wasn't actually her, just his deprived mind playing tricks on him again. The fact that he had no one to talk to didn't make it easier. Picking up the bottle, he went to pour himself another glass. _

_From the near the entrance of the room there was a dull thud and a string of cursing in rapid fire Spanish. Sandra had stubbed her toe on the corner of the couch. Hopping around to the seat of the couch she sat down and held her foot in her hand making sure joints still bent and nothing was broken or severely injured. _

"_Tom, what the hell are you doing here in the dark?" Wordlessly he lifted his glass in a mock toast and tipped his head back taking another swig. _

"_Right. I see. Well, in compensation for my injuries…" She leaned over and grabbed the glass out of his hand. "Hey!" He finally spoke up, his voice rusty from lack of use lately, "Go get your own." He sounded like a small child who had his cookies and milk taken from him._

"_Ummm…I've been working my ass of taking care of your daughter and keeping this place up. No. You know where the kitchen is." Sandra gave him a nudge to get up and get a new glass for himself. Resigned he got up and got a new glass. While he was gone, Sandra slid off the couch close to where he had been sitting before and grabbed the bottle herself, pouring some more. Tom came back and plopped down next to her on the floor. _

"_So, Mr. Quincy why the doom, gloom, and alcohol?" She poured some vodka in his new glass, this bottle wasn't going to last them much longer at the rate they were going. _

"_I really don't want to talk about it." The little light that was in the room showed the dark circles around his eyes and his sunken cheeks. He hit rock bottom of whatever emotional pit he was in, but in general he had been doing well the past few months. But there were days that Sandra noticed occasionally in the mornings he looked more exhausted than he usually after another long day in his new life of fatherhood._

"_You lost that option a long time ago, like…two years ago when you hired me to be your daughter's caretaker while you pretended she hardly existed." Tom hung his head in shame. Sandra's one personality flaw….or virtue was her unyielding honesty. She had a way of stabbing him with toxic words of truth._

_Looking up at the ceiling and then focusing his gaze in on her he let out a humorless chuckle. "So this is how you go about it? Get me drunk so I'll cry my story out to you?"_

"_Drink up, Quincy." His body visibly tightened at the use of his last name. He hadn't heard that for a long time. Sandra tipped the bottle in his favor again. _

"…_Three years ago I was contacted to do a favor for a good friend of mine, she was running a record label and was going to be signing a new artist from one of those talent shows…." Tom launched into his story, not giving Sandra time to even interrupt and ask questions to clarify. That was totally unnecessary though. He relieved every detail of his involvement with Jude, he smiled when he told her about the good times they had together and his brow furrowed and he took another sip of his poison when he got to parts of Jude getting involved with other guys. The list was fairly extensive for two years of knowing her. Shay, Jamie, Spiederman….and once he finally got to the end of their two year escapade, his features softened as he recalled the night they spent together locked in the club on her 17th birthday, and the intense moment they shared in Darius' office not to long after that- and then seeing Jude in his rearview mirror as he drove off for the last time, leaving her behind. _

_His body completely collapsed against the couch he leaned against as he neared the end of his story, which was him showing up on the doorstep of his Miami abode for the last time. No more weekend ventures to make sure Cora still knew who he was, or spending half of his holiday's in Canada while the other half was in Miami. He was home._

_Tom was snapped out of his daze by the alcohol coursing through Sandra causing her to overreact and sob hysterically at the story that was just divulged to her. Setting her glass down on the table she wiped her eyes dry and violently hit his chest. "Why would you leave her? Just leave her like that, in the middle of the road crying out for you?" The thought of it set her off again, a new stream of tears cascaded down her cheeks. _

"_Sandra, what the hell was I supposed to do? Tell her that for the past two years of knowing her, I had been keeping half of my life a secret? That would have gone over real well. 'Oh, by the way Jude, I need to fly down to Miami and visit my daughter again this weekend, so I won't be able to show up for your gig on Saturday.' She would have killed me." He shook his head imagining the scenario that would have taken place._

"_But you might have passed up the opportunity of sharing this part of your life with her."_

Tom lay in his dark room again, he feigned illness to his daughter and holed himself up in his room for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Night was always the hardest for him. The empty bed made him remember her the most. He used to dream about what it would be like to share this bed with her, the bed, this life. Sandra's last words echoed in his head hauntingly.

He paced along the foot of his bed, 'I've really screwed up this time. She was there, and I lost her again.' Being torn between looking for her, and letting her go, he collapsed onto his bed and punched the mattress in frustration. He knew deep down that he should go looking for her but the chances of her turning him down again was too much for his heart to take.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The lyrics used are by Finger Eleven "For the Ocean"

Jude was resorting to the only thing in the world that never deserted her. She idly traced her index finger of the dial of her ipod searching for something that fit. Going through and reaching the end of her list with Yoko Ono, she ripped the headphones from her ears and threw the mp3 player onto her bed. She let out a scream of frustration and hit the arm rest of the chair she sat in.

Though muffled from Kwest and Sadie's suite, it was still piercing enough to catch their attention. The couple looked at each other, they started at the same time "You should go-"

"You're her sister" Kwest finished off, holding out his arm to offer Jude's room to Sadie.

"But you're her producer now…and you get her musical frustration." Sadie pouted.

"Sade- I hardly think whatever's going on with her is music related." Unhappily, Sadie got up from the bed she had been relaxing on and went to the connecting door and lightly knocked on the door before opening it and sticking her head in the room. "Can I come in?"

Jude looked up from her notebook, "If I said no, would that stop you?" Sadie laughed. "You're right." And stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Sadie surveyed her sister in the room. She watched Jude all but ignore her as she continued to write in her notebook.

"Jude- I know we never really shared the whole music thing…but mind sharing what you're working on?" Jude looked up surprised. Sadie had never really taken a heartfelt interest in her musical career because it was the one thing that Sadie could never have or be better at. "Umm.." Jude faltered; she didn't know why her sister suddenly had an interest in her music.

"I mean, if you don't want to-" Sadie looked around awkwardly trying to find something else to talk about. "No, no…it's really rough, and I don't have my guitar, but I could sing it a cappella." Jude set her pencil down and nervously smoothed down the page she was working on. "Um…it's what I think is a verse and maybe the chorus…I don't know really…" Her voice drifted off trying to explain it to her sister.

_You've taken your timing  
So flawless executing me  
So fearless and hopeful  
Can you imagine such a scene?  
Do you wonder how I stay  
So complacent  
It's like waiting for the ocean  
To save you from the waves  
When you're so far under_

The lyrics were full of emotion, but her voice displayed a steely coldness that Sadie had never heard before. She sounded hallow and almost calloused.

Sadie took a deep breath before she started again. "Jude- you have every right to tell me it's none of my business, and nothing happened, but if…something did happen today, while you were in the park…" she picked her eyes up from the speckled carpet and looked at her sister, trying to reach into her soul through her eyes and figure out what was going on, "I want you to know that I'm always here for you." Jude gave a weak smile, her eyes watered a little with the admission her sister just gave. Now it was her turn to be honest.

"Three years ago, the man I loved died to me. **I **died. At least, the man I thought I knew." Jude took a deep breath and tried to steady her voice. "And today, I learned that that person, the person who I had invested my heart and soul in…my soul, had lied to me all long." Jude shook her head slowly, as if it was her fault, and her sheer stupidity to not see this part of Tommy's life that he had hidden from her.

Sadie sat with her mouth agape. Slowly the pieces were falling into place. Swallowing, she started slowly "The little girl….Tom's?"

Jude pursed her lips and looked up at the ceiling. "Yes…no…UGH!" She shot up from the chair and started to frantically pace back and forth in the room that suddenly felt too small. "I don't know? I mean, it was a little girl and I didn't even realize it was him until he chased me down to thank me….and when I saw him…I thought I was seeing a ghost. I honestly had mentally buried him. And there he was. Just…he had the nerve to be standing right there. RIGHT THERE." Jude was waving her hands frantically as she continued to pace.

Stopping, she turned and faced Sadie again, who still looked amazed, and perplexed, and confused as hell. "But you know what really gets me, Sade?"

She slowly shook her head; words were failing her at the moment. "Despite it all, despite the past three years, the fact that he left me- my heart started pounding like it did every time he walked into the same room three years ago. And I swore I felt the same butterflies, and I wanted nothing more than to have him wrap his arms around me and kiss me. Like the time had never passed, and none of this had ever happened." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she helplessly stood there. Sadie got up from her chair and rushed over to Jude, enveloping her younger sister into a hug and whispering "shhh…it's going to be okay. We'll figure this out. I promise."

The two girls stood there, rocking back and forth. Sadie continued, "I'm sorry Jude, really, I just wanted you to come and have a good time, and I'll be damned…another thing to backfire on me."

Through her tears, Jude laughed and sniffled "I blame Kwest and his sucky match making skills." She tightened her grip on her older sister then pulled away, "Thank you Sadie, really. For everything. And I trust you, whatever happens happens, and it'll work out."


	7. Chapter 7

Kwest stood in the middle of the grocery store aisle scrutinizing the selection of refined junk foods. He had been sent out by Sadie to pick up a couple of sappy chick flicks and junk food. Sadie was trying in vain to cheer up her unhappy sister. Jude's protests fell on deaf ears though, and she warmed up the idea of a night in with a couple of DVD's and a lot of candy and popcorn. Backing up to get a better view of the entire selection he bumped into a cart. Turning around to apologize, he began "I'm sorry…" The woman just smiled back

"Don't worry about it, vantage point in the snack aisle is important, wouldn't want to miss anything important." She winked at him playfully. Kwest cocked his head curiously and narrowed his eyes in obvious concentration. He knew her from somewhere. The woman fidgeted uncomfortably under his intense gaze. She looked down on her shirt, inspecting it. "Well, there are no stains…are you okay?"

"Yeah….you just look really familiar." Kwest still couldn't place her, "And that wink…I remember a friend of mine doing that, but I haven't seen her since grade school."

Sandra's eyes widened "…Kyson?" Kwest visibly flinched. "Kwest, please."

"…Ky…Kwest, it's me! Sandra!" She threw her arms around him in a big hug. "Mijo! How are you?"

"Sandra…Sandra…I can't…breathe." Kwest tried to pry the girl off of him so he could get sufficient oxygen again. Once she had released her grip on him he just laughed at her.

"I'm good…doing good, how about yourself? What has you grocery shopping at this hour?"

"Well, after school, college, and a degree in child development, I became a nanny. And I'm just out getting some stuff for the girl's birthday in a week. I don't have any time with her out of school for the summer, and her father keeps me pretty busy."

"Sandra, you could be doing so much more…"

"I know, I know. But I've been pretty attached to this little girl, her dad wasn't around the first few years and I was her primary caretaker. I love them both dearly. I'm not going anywhere for awhile." She lightly leaned against the cart and shook her head laughing. "Of all the places to run into someone….the grocery store! So you left Miami at the end of junior high, what happened after that?"

"Moved to Canada because of my dad's job, and started working for a record company, doing tech stuff, I got into producing…it's been good, life has been treating me well and-" Kwest's cellphone started ringing in his pocket, "hold on a sec." Sandra just nodded silently and started to browse the aisle she was in, grabbing a few items for Cora's party and putting them in her cart.

"Sade- no, I know, I'm at the store now and- no, I know. Yes, I'm here- she wants chocolate? Okay, I'll pick it up. No-" He was continually cut off and Sandra laughed. "Yes, I'm hurrying, I just ran into an old friend and- yes, yes Sadie, it's a girl. No…NO! Absolutely not. Alright, I'm on my way…no, I won't forget Jude's chocolate." Sandra's ears perked up. Jude?

Kwest closed his flip phone and looked apologetically at Sandra. "Hey, it was great to see you again, but my girlfriend is trying to console her sister and I was sent to get the movies and snacks and she's beckoning me back."

"I totally understand, it was great to see you again." Sandra went to hug him goodbye, and Kwest started to walk down the aisle to the front of the store. "Ky- I mean, Kwest?"

"Uh huh?" He turned around.

"You said a name while you were on the phone…"

"Yeah, Jude." He shrugged, thinking nothing of it.

"And you're a producer, right?" Kwest was looking more and more confused as her questioning continued. "Yeah, I produce up in Canada…"

Sandra slowly started, "I work…for a Tom Quincy."

Realization and shock crossed over Kwest's face. "I have to go now, but give me your number, and we'll go get coffee tomorrow, can you get some time free?"

"Yeah…yeah, I think I can." A smiled creeped onto Sandra's face. She lived for match making and meddling in other's love lives. Kwest got her number, and promised to call tomorrow. His head was swirling with thoughts and possibilities as everything began to make sense. Jude didn't just run into anyone in the park, it was Tom and his daughter. He hadn't seen his best friend in three years, but that was the least of his priorities right now. Guys could go years without seeing one another and be fine, but Jude….it broke his heart to see her so hurt and destroyed. He could fix this. At least he hoped he could.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**: Hi guys, I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I have up to chapter...25 written, but I'm taking my time posting them on here, my first priority is DLS. Oh, and in reference to the whole 'tommy having a kid' story line, as much as I would love to claim that I'm just psychic and this was an idea totally out of my imagination, I can't do that unfortunately. I did read some IS spoilers from fanbolt and knew the plot of episode 2.13 way before it aired. I was so interested in it, I wrote this. But anyways, onward to chapter eight.

* * *

Kwest stared down at his half finished drink. Maybe she wouldn't be showing up after all. Resigned he reached for his wallet pulling out enough bills to cover the cost of the drink and a nice tip for the poor college aged girl waiting tables to pay her rent. He threw the money on the table and tipped his cup back to get the last dregs of caffeine. Setting the cup down he looked around one final time and failed to see Sandra anywhere in the vicinity. Pushing the chair back, the metal scraped noisily against the concrete of the patio café. Slowly rising he heard a commotion of clicking heels scurrying along and "Kyson!" being yelled. Visibly cringing again he sat back down obediently and scooted his chair back in.

Sandra made it to the table, leaning against the empty chair facing Kwest huffing and slightly red faced. Kwest could only humorously shake his head at the sight of her. Her hair was coming lose from the twist she had styled earlier in the morning, her clothes were slightly askew and he took note of her 4 inch heels completely lost as to how she was able to run in them at all.

"We were meeting for coffee…you're a nanny, why the hooker heels?" A playful look danced across his features as Sandra frowned at him. "You know if I'm not working, I'm in heels. It's a force of nature and plague of being 5'2""

"Amazing how you haven't grown an inch since junior high." Sandra's face screwed up but she quickly retorted "The same could be said for you….but enough, I only have so much time. Tom is in a particularly sour mood today because of what happened in the park, and he's working me like a dog."

"Okay, so we have a heartbroken girl, and-"

"A sad puppy dog."

"I knew they were getting pretty serious, but he's that bad?" Kwest was mildly surprised knowing Tommy's past of being a philandering playboy with what Portia would refer to as a 'model addiction'.

"Kwest, he has spent so many nights alone in his room with the curtains drawn and no light. It's like….he feels like once Cora has gone to bed he doesn't have a reason to live anymore until she's awake again." Kwest's eyes widened at Sandra's admission. He had definitely changed in the past three years. "You mean to tell me that Tom has been alone the past three years?"

Sandra nodded solemnly. "Completely. Alone." She emphasized each word and raised an eyebrow indicating that there hadn't been other women in his bedroom, much less his house since he moved to Miami.

"Alright, so Ms. Matchmaker, what do you have in mind?" A delightfully evil and scheming grin crossed her features. "Well, this morning during breakfast Cora was drawing and coloring like she always does in the mornings, but today she was drawing the park from yesterday, her with another woman, I'm guessing Jude. So, you could always bring Jude over. Say you're stopping by to meet an old friend…."

Kwest and Sandra spent the next 45 minutes scheming and creating a foolproof plan to get Tommy and Jude to interact again…they couldn't guarantee the outcome of it, but they would definitely being seeing each other if all went according to plan and Cora was her predictable self.

Their conversation was cut short when a remarkably surly Tom called to find out where Sandra was. "Tom, I'm your housekeeper and nanny, not two dollar trick." Random gurgling of agitation could be heard from the speaker. "No, I took care of everything. Calm down. You know what you need, a woman. You would be less on edge all the time, relieve some of that…tension."

"I DO NOT NEED THAT." She pulled the phone from her ear. "But you know what, I need my hearing, so if you could bring it down a few notches, that'd be fantastic. Okay? Thanks." She snapped shut her phone, hanging up on him.

Kwest just sat back and laughed. "You and Jude are probably the only two people who could ever put Tom in his place…never leave him." Sandra just cocked her head in acknowledgement. "What can I say, it's a gift. And don't worry, I'm not leaving anytime soon, not until he's happy again. And I might just stick around for the hell of it after that."

Reaching into her purse she went to dig out money to cover the drink she consumed during their conversation. Putting his hand out, he stopped her "My treat." Looking ready to protest he stopped her again. "Really, get them back together and that's worth more than this coffee."

The two parted ways and as Kwest was on his way back to the hotel he figured out what he would say in order to get Jude into Tom's house. Luckily enough, he would be at the office all day tomorrow, and his house was on the way to the beach anyways with the directions Sandra gave him. They could just pop in quickly so he could say hi to "an old friend", and if all went according to plan, Cora would unknowingly do the rest.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The song used towards the end is by Pink "Long Way To Happy", and you know, don't own instant star, etc, etc, etc

"Okay, Sadie, I understand this was supposed to make me feel better, but I feel like a fat, pale cow." Jude stared at herself in the mirror, her flawless figure was illuminated by bad florescent lighting from the changing room.

"Oh whatever, you're rail thin Jude, you could stand to put on a few pounds and you're gawww-gee-ous!. Now let me see you!"

Jude opened the door and timidly peeked her head outside the room to see if anyone else was around. Her eyes slid from side to side of the shop before slowly stepping outside of the small changing room. She tried to cover as much of her body as possible with her arms and hands. The small bikini did nothing to make her feel better about the previous day, not to mention the mass quantities of chocolate she had consumed last night.

Sadie gaped at her younger sister. She had come a long way from a 15 year old rocker chick with a black eyeliner addiction. Her body was the figure that most girls and women would die for. She had beautiful porcelain skin that didn't need the help of a tan to glow. The tiny black bikini was something that she would have never picked out on her own, but hey- what are big sisters for?

"Jude Harrison, put your hands down! I want to see what it looks like on you."

"Umm…hi, I'm practically naked." Jude gawked at her sister, "I can't wear this in public!" she took on an obstinate and defensive stance with her hands on her hips. Sadie just laughed. "That's it! Strike a pose…and be glad I didn't make you try on the Brazilian bottoms."

"I draw the line somewhere, and half my ass hanging out of my bottoms is it!" She scurried back into the dressing room and under the harsh lighting looked at herself with a critical eye. When she looked at herself objectively in the mirror, she couldn't deny the fact that she had developed well. Genetics had been relatively kind to her. She had a wonderful hourglass shape and the black was stunning against her fair skin and even thought she had drowned her sorrows in chocolate, she couldn't really complain.

From her small changing area, she could hear strains of a song from a Latin artist she wasn't familiar with. The bass line was alluring and she couldn't help but start to sway to the music. Her hips moved to the beat and eventually she was dancing sensually watching herself in the mirror. By the second repetition of the chorus, she was mouthing the lyrics to herself, making silly faces. "You know I can see you dancing in there." Sadie commented seeing her sister's feet dancing around from the bottom of the door.

"Umm…well, you know." Jude faltered. "I had to make sure it moved well." She could only laugh at herself being caught doing something silly in public.

"Yeah, yeah. Change so we can get back to the hotel, tomorrow is a long beach and club day!"

* * *

"So you're going to be at the office all day, right?"

Tom looked rather suspiciously at Sandra, she had been acting as if she had taken in an entire pot of coffee all day since she had gotten back from her mid-day absence. "Yeah…it hasn't changed from the first three times you asked me and I said yes."

"Um…right, I just wanted to make sure." She ducked into the pantry pretending to busy herself, "So what do you want for dinner? Anything specific?"

He was buried in a folder file. Most likely another boring report about product trends and if they should invest in a new artist, what direction the market was moving, what the younger generation craved. She found it hard to believe that he had a creative bone in his body some days. He was this dry shell of a human. A phenomenal father, but so damn boring as an adult and individual. "Ummm….no, whatever's fine" He didn't pay much attention to her at the moment. Which was fine by her, she didn't want him to get any ideas and lack in trust towards her.

* * *

Hours later Jude and Sadie finally returned after a therapeutic day of shopping. "Well you're in a chipper mood." Kwest put down the his copy of Rolling Stone as Sadie wrapped her arms around him planting a kiss on his cheek. "Well you know a little shop therapy always puts me in a better mood."

"Yeah, and she gets her kicks seeing me half naked in stores." Jude retorted, pulling a bottle of water out of the half fridge in the room. Kwest raised an eyebrow. "She needed a new two piece." "Ah…" Kwest's interest quickly faded with the mention of clothes.

Sadie went into super defense mode at his piqued interest in his sister (what could she say, a Tommy defense mechanism that never died). She sat down on his lap and started to divert his attention back to her in ways that only Sadie would resort to as a first option.

"Well, while you to get on…whatever you get on, I'll be in my room blaring my ipod so feel free to you know, whatever." Jude grabbed her bag from the store and scampered off to her part of the suite, slamming the door behind her.

The rest of the night was filled with her typical stressed musical fare- an array of angsty girls singing about failed relationships and things that weren't to be. She picked up her journal and started doodling around until something sparked an idea. Pulling her headphones away, she started to write furiously, humming out a melody at the same time.

One night to you  
Lasted six weeks for me  
Just a bitter little pill now  
Just to try to go to sleep  
No more waking up to innocence  
Say hello to hesitance

To everyone I meet  
Thanks to you years ago  
I guess I'll never know  
What love means to me but oh  
I'll keep on rolling down this road  
But I've got a bad, bad feeling

She nodded, feeling inspired, like this one might actually get finished. The chorus flowed out of mouth, almost as if they were coming from someone else's mind.

It's gonna take a long time to love  
It's gonna take a lot to hold on  
It's gonna be a long way to happy, yeah  
Left in the pieces that you broke me into  
Torn apart but now I've got to  
Keep on rolling like a stone  
Cause it's gonna be a long long way to happy

She kept humming a melody, but no words were coming for a second verse. She impatiently tapped her pen against her faithful notebook. Humming the melody again, yet still nothing came. Jude gave a loud sigh of frustration and produced another noises of annoyance. This had happened a lot to her over the past few years. She used to have a plethora of completed songs ready to record, and she still had a plethora of songs but most were unfinished. She seemed to have lost her muse and now she barely scraped by with enough songs to finish and record a CD. It never affected the quality of the CD, but all of these songs and ideas were bursting to come forth and were stopped and cut off by her missing muse.

Closing her notebook, she gave up. Tomorrow would be a long day, but a much needed day of relaxation and the sun and loud club music would do the trick to push Tommy to a back burner again. One encounter and run in wasn't going to set back three years of trying to forget him. She got ready for bed throwing on a pair of sleep shorts and a cami. No matter how hard she tried, when she closed her eyes to drift off to sleep she kept seeing that little girl, Cora. She had striking dark features, and definitely had parts of Tommy evident in her features. She was a beautiful little girl who was plaguing her nighttime thoughts. Wondering who the mother was and where she went, Jude drifted off to relatively restful sleep under the circumstances.


	10. Chapter 10

Tom stared at his reflection in the mirror as he finished tying his tie. His eyes had the remnants of another sleepless night lingering. Once he was done, he grabbed his suit jacket and briefcase from the bed ready to emerge into the world for another long and tortuous day. The typical fare of fresh baked breakfast delicatessens awaited him as he started his day like every other day. Briefcase down. Jacket on the back of a bar stool. Kiss Cora. Plate from Sandra. Nothing ever deviated from this tried and true formula. He was ready to break out, but so afraid at the same time. God, he had changed for the worse.

After quickly eating his breakfast, he left the two of them in the kitchen. Today was full of meetings and product trends. What hellish torture.

* * *

Jude was up surprisingly early; starting off her day with staring at her notebook more hoping some sort of musical genius would flow from her. Alas, nothing was sparked as she looked over her lyrics from the night before. Once again giving up, she got up from her bed to change for the day. She pulled out the skimpy black two piece from the shopping bag and set it out on the messy unmade bed. Next she rooted around in her suitcase for a white tank and her shortest pair of denim shorts. With everything laid out, she proceeded to change. She had to admit, she felt hot in the outfit. The bikini, the messy casual look, everything. Miami was starting to grow on her after only a couple of days.

Completely done and ready to go, she glanced at the clock and noticed she probably still had time to go. It was still pretty early. With that in mind, she started to rummage in her suitcase again for what she would wear tonight. She pulled out a pair of dark wash jeans and threw them over the back of her desk chair and started to look for her favorite corset that she brought with her. "Ah ha, here you are." Extracting it from the bottom of the suitcase, the crimson corset was also tossed onto the chair. She was going to look hot tonight, and she would be noticed.

Packing up her beach tote, she left her room to see Sadie and Kwest up and almost ready to go to her surprise. "Well good morning you two."

"Hey, glad to see you're ready to go." Sadie was finishing up packing her own bag, grabbing her beach towel. "I hope you don't mind, but we have to make a stop before the beach, Kwest wants to go and say hi to an old friend."

Jude just shrugged. "That's fine."

Kwest emerged from the bathroom area, changed and ready to go. "Are my lovely ladies ready?"

"Yep, good to go so we can still make it to your friend's house, and then hit up the surf and sun." Sadie was practically giddy with the mention of sun and crashing waves. The three left the room proceeded to the car. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the house they were driving towards, and what a house it was. The architecture was beautiful and typically Miami, but with an indescribable modern flare and the property looked relatively large. Much different from the sad apartment Jude had back in Canada, or even the house her mother still owned that she and Sadie still frequented.

Kwest pulled up to the closed gates and leaned out the open window to press the call button. A cheerful female voice came from the box greeting Kwest and opening the gate for them. As they drove up the long driveway, Jude looked around, taking in everything. "Damn Kwest, she's doing pretty well for herself."

"Oh, well, she is, but this isn't hers. She's actually at work right now, so we'll just drop by for a second, she's a nanny and caretaker for the owner. But apparently he's out for the day, spending it at the office."

"Ah. Another jackass who doesn't watch his kids. Gotcha." Jude nodded, thoroughly understanding that apparently that was the big city way- as long as they made enough money to support their kids and hire a nanny.

The car stopped and was put in park, the engine killed. All three of them got out and walked to the front door. Sadie rang the doorbell and shortly after, a pretty young Spanish woman opened the door. "Kyson!" She winked playfully. Kwest looked mildly embarrassed with Jude and Sadie there. "Kyson?" Jude looked at him humorously, "_Kyson_ produces my records? No wonder you go by Kwest."

"Oh, I love you already, I'm Sandra by the way" Sandra smiled at Jude, "But come in, come in! Do you guys want anything? Coffee? Something to eat?" All three of them politely declined, Jude was too involved in looking around the house. It was nice, but slightly on the minimalist side. Kwest, Sadie, and Sandra went off into the general kitchen area and there was a flurry of chatter between the three of them. Jude lagged behind and continued to look around, she felt intrusive, but couldn't help it.

Wandering down a hall, she found a couple of immaculate and obviously not used guest rooms, and an office. She shouldn't go in, but the pictures on the desk were beckoning. They were pictures of a very small baby, no older than 6 months old. Several of them sat atop the remarkably masculine looking desk. Everything in the room gave off that vibe, all black or brushed metal. She moved closer to get a good look at the baby when she heard a small voice come from behind. "Excuse me."

Jude jumped, startled that someone had found her and turned around to see who belonged to the voice. Her stomach dropped. Blinking a couple of times to rule out hallucination, she managed to stutter out "Co-Cora?"

"You're the lady from the park!" Her little face lit up, no longer concerned with the fact that a stranger was in her daddy's office.

Jude looked almost ill. "Um..how's the scrape?" The little girl kicked out her leg to show the bruised and scabbed knee. "Alright…." An awkward silence came between them. "Do you want to see my room?" Relieved for an excuse to leave Tommy's office, she gratefully accepted. "Sure! That sounds like a great idea." She had no reason to hate this girl; she couldn't help the fact that Tommy was her father.

Cora extended her small hand and Jude took it and followed along down another hallway to a partially opened door. The room was overwhelmingly girly and decorated, unlike the rest of the house. Toys littered the corners of the room, and her bed had a canopy top with sheer drapes at each post of the bed. "Wow, what a pretty room! Fit for a princess." Jude smiled at her as she was pulling barbies out, ready to play with her newfound friend. The two sat on the floor and played as if they were old friends. 'Oh to be young and trusting like that again' Jude thought to herself.

"I haven't heard anything from either of them…you think they found each other?" Sandra craned her neck to see if she could see anything from the kitchen table.

Sadie looked confused. "I'm sorry, what?" Sandra's eyes darted between Kwest and Sadie. "You didn't say anything?"

"No…" Kwest avoided looking at his girlfriend.

"What? Someone tell me." She was greatly bothered at the fact that she had been left out of an obvious ploy here, she just didn't know what it was.

Sandra started to talk and offer an explanation. "When Kwest ran into me in the grocery store a couple of days ago I heard him mention a Jude while he was on the phone with you, and my employer also knew a Jude…."

"Oh my god, you didn't." Sadie was slack jawed.

Sandra nodded. "We did." A smile crept on her face.

"So do you have a lot of friends here?"

"Yeah, and I get to see them soon! I'm having my birthday party, and I'm going to be 6!" Cora looked so proud to be a year older.

"Well happy birthday! You'll have to use both hands to count your age now! Practically a grown up." Jude smiled at the little girl. They had been there for at least 15 minute. Wondering where everyone else was, she started to get up. "I'm going to go see where my friends are, okay?"

Cora nodded and stood up to go with her. Jude stepped outside of her room and looked around confused. "Cora, could you lead the way? I don't know where we are" Jude admitted sheepishly. Cora bobbed her head enthusiastically and took Jude's hand again, running through the hallways. The two made it to the kitchen and the three adults at the table turned to notice them and just smiled. Sandra spoke up first. "The little munchkin found you, huh? Have you been behaving yourself, Miss Cora?"

"Yes Miss Sandra." She nodded her head solemnly.

Kwest finally spoke up. "Jude, we're done here if you're ready to go.."

"Yeah, I'm good." She looked down at Cora. "It was really nice to see you again, Cora."

"Will you come and play again?" Her big brown eyes made it hard to say no.

"Umm…well I'm not sure…" Jude looked at Sandra for some sort of assistance but was receiving none.

Cora looked sad, but suddenly her face lit up and she was struck with an idea. "Miss…."

"Jude, just call me Jude."

"Miss Jude, would you come to my birthday party? It's this Saturday. That way you can meet all my friends you were asking about, and it'll be lots of fun, we're going to have cake, and play games…" Her eyes begged, and Jude didn't have to heart to tell the young girl no. She could suck up an hour or so to make her happy, and still successfully avoid Cora's father.

"Sure Cora, I'll make sure to stop by, okay?" Cora gave her a great big hug and a huge smile before trotting off back to her room.

"What did I just do…" She shook her head with Cora out of earshot.

"Not many people can say no to her, she's pretty manipulating and has her dad wrapped around her little finger." Sandra just laughed and stood from her stop at the table. "Well, I don't want to keep you any longer, I know you're on your way to the beach, so go have fun. And Jude, the party is between one and four, feel free to stop by whenever."

"I'm guessing he's going to be here the entire time?" Jude looked pained in asking that, the last thing she wanted was to have to deal with him.

"Yeah, I can't conceivably make him miss her birthday. Though he might be extra surly towards me that day. Two of us to put him in his place might be good." She winked at Jude.

"Wait, how did you-"

"I put two and two together, now off you go!" She ushered the trio out before Jude could ask any more incriminating questions. With the door closed behind her, she leaned against it and let out a sigh of relief. If there was anything that Cora was aces at, it was manipulation. She had those big puppy eyes that no adult could resist. Now to just break the news to Tom…


	11. Chapter 11

"_And I know that you're solely behind the company now, but I have to say, I've listened to your work. You were doing some really amazing stuff, especially with that one girl…" the young artist kept rambling. This was supposed to be a business transaction, but Tom started to fail miserably when he looked out to the dance floor._

_Fate kept screwing with him, it hurt to look at her, but he couldn't look away. She was on the dance floor, moving as smoothly as a charmed snake completely hypnotized by the music. Her and Sadie were dancing on the floor, having a good time. A guy came up behind her as a new song came over the speakers in the club, Buttons by The Pussycat Dolls. Her hips started to sway against him to the music. Tom swallowed hard, completely oblivious to the musician he was here with. He was powerless to do anything but watch Jude and some random stranger trying to get off on her. His grip tightened against the bar countertop in hopes to restrain himself from jumping up and attacking the guy she was with. The faceless man's hands started to wander and Jude stopped moving. When they dipped into the front of her jeans she slammed the heel of her shoe on his toes and he jumped back, his mouth moving wordlessly, probably stringing out a long line of profanities. Tom snapped out of his trance and chuckled. That was the Jude he knew, missed… loved. _

"_You okay over there?" Tom looked back at the person he was here with, "Yeah, sorry about that…thought I saw someone I knew…"_

"_Well, everyone looks like a cookie cut out here. All blonde, fake, and plastic. And the guys all look a little metro for my taste." Tom slowly nodded, not to agree, but just to not start anything. He finished off his drink, ready and needing to get out of there._

He couldn't stop thinking about what happened a few nights ago. He should have mustered up the courage to go and talk to her instead of acting like a scared school boy with a pathetic crush. Alas, business first now. Cora first, now. He was helping Sandra get everything ready for this afternoon, hanging streamers, and now currently blowing up balloons. It appeared that she had bought everything pink under the sun.

"I said some decorations, not the entire party store." Tom laughed and shook his head at the array of….stuff before him. Cora was his little princess though, spoiled, but he couldn't help it. He finished the list of tasks that Sandra had set out for him to do just as Cora skipped out of the hallway in an outfit she had picked out herself with a tiara on from her dress up clothes. Her smile was contagious and had Tom grinning from ear to ear. "Com'ere Corazon." He squatted down and put his arms out, she came running at him and was enveloped in a hug. "Happy birthday, Miss princess Cora. Why don't you go play for a little bit, you guests should be here soon, okay?"

"Okay!" She bounded away in excitement. Tom stood up and sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "What's wrong Papa Quincy?"

"She's getting so big, before you know it, I'll be interrogating her boyfriends, meeting her fiancé, becoming a grandfather…."

"Slow down racehorse, she just turned six today. Right now you need to summon the energy of the Greek Gods to deal with 30 six year olds running around and terrorizing your house." Tom screwed up his face at the thought. "No spills, that's all I ask of"

"HA! That's cute, you crack me up." Sandra laughed as she was finishing up her tasks. She busied herself with random straightening up and organizing, a nervous habit she had. She never actually got around to telling Tom that Jude was showing up and Cora (thank God) hadn't mentioned it. He would find out when she walked through the door, which speaking of rang a second later. "I'll get that" she told him, ready for any given excuse to occupy her time so she didn't feel so guilty about keeping this secret from him. There were two little girls with their mom's at the door. "Hi guys, come on in." from around the door, she called for Cora who came sprinting down the hall to greet her friends. "Why don't you show them outside hun."

"Come on guys!" The three girls trotted off giggling and laughing already. The two women were escorted into the living room where Tom gave them a small wave and thanked them for stopping by, telling them how much it meant to Cora, and to him.

A couple of hours had passed, and there was still no sign of Jude. Sandra began to worry if she was going to show up at all. Sneaking into the kitchen she pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and scrolled down to Kwest's number. Making sure no one was around, she brought the phone up to her ear. "Come on, pick up..pick up." And finally, on the fifth ring, there was a "Hello" From the other end. "Hey, Kwest, it's Sandra. Is she coming?" "Yeah, she left about 15 minutes ago, she should be there soon." As soon as he finished his sentence, the doorbell rang. "That's her, I gotta go!" She clapped her phone closed and called out for Tom. "Hey, can you get that, I'm busy in here."

"Yeah, sure. No problem." He wasn't sure who it was, he thought he saw everyone who was invited but they were all running around so he might have missed one or two. The door swung open and Tom didn't know what to do. Jude stood there, looking rather unsure of herself and shocked that Tommy had opened the door. "I…um. I was here for Cora, she asked me to stop by and…you know what. This was a bad idea." She started to turn around and leave.

"Wait- Jude, she's in the backyard. She'll be disappointed if you don't go and see her."

"Are you sure?" She wanted so badly to be mad at him, but his daughter was an obvious weakness. "Yeah, she's out back with 30 other yelling, running, and jumping six year olds."

"Ah, so you only have an affinity for your yelling, running, jumping but might I say extremely polite six year old." Small talk didn't really suit them. "Well, um, I brought her something." She held out a pink bag with different Disney princesses decorating it.

"You didn't have to do that." She just shrugged "oh well, I did anyways. I'm gonna go..." She pointed towards the living room, and he stepped aside to let her in. Closing the door behind her, he leaned against it for support. He knew this was Sandra, and he was going to kill her when he got the chance. Or maybe kiss her. He couldn't figure out what to do next.

For the next hour or so, he stayed inside the house occasionally peering outside windows to catch a glance at Cora, or Jude. "You could always go and talk to her instead of playing voyeur."

Tom sighed, "And what am I supposed to say to her?"

"You could start with asking her how she's doing, how she's been the past, oh, you know, THREE YEARS you were gone. She might appreciate your interest."

"She might hate me too." He turned around to face Sandra.

"Well, if she does, it wouldn't matter then would it. But at least you could get on with your life. Either way, please, for your sake, talk to her." Sandra walked out to announce cake and present time to everyone, and no sooner than sweet confections were mentioned the miniature battalion traipsed into the dining area. Jude walked into the kitchen to grab some plates and utensils before Tommy started to talk. "Jude, I just wanted you to know that I wanted to tell you."

"Really?" She looked and sounded genuinely surprised. Tommy was relieved at her response.

"Yeah, wow, I'm so glad you don't hate me for that and everything."

She laughed maliciously. "I never said I didn't hate you, but there are 30 kids within earshot and I don't think their mommy's and daddy's would appreciate a few new vocabulary words in their repertoire. Now if you'll excuse me." She walked out with the plates and forks without giving him a chance to respond.

Happy birthday was sung, presents opened and slowly the tired children left one by one, Tom thanking them all at the door. Jude stayed behind to help Sandra clean up, and Cora had wound up napping on the couch. Several large trashbags later, the house was almost back to normal and the two women sat down to take a small break before they finished.

"You didn't have to stay and help, I could have managed."

"Yeah, well I would have felt bad if I didn't. You did a hell of a job, pulling all of this together. _All of it_." Sandra felt slightly guilty picking up on the implied meaning of her words.

"Jude, he never meant to hurt you."

"But he did. He should have trusted me, but he didn't. So what can you do?"

Though he heard every word, he pretended to not notice them and scooped a sleeping Cora off of the couch to bring her to her bed. Jude couldn't deny that he did the right thing by being the father that he needed to be, but why did she get shut out like that?

"He showed up on the doorstep 24, scared, confused, and clueless. Please, Jude, if for no one else, go and get coffee or a drink with him for me, or better yet, for Cora. Let him tell you their story."

She was such a sucker for the girl- his daughter and the mention of 'their' story. "…okay." She got up off of her seat and navigated her way though the hallway to Cora's room. She leaned against the doorframe and watched him tuck her into bed silently. He took off her shoes and pulled the covers up over her body. Leaning down he kissed on the forehead and whispered 'mi corazon'. Straightening up, he turned around to see Jude standing there.

"Hi." She said meekly.

He furrowed his brow and advanced towards the door "If you're going to chew me out, I don't want to hear it." She held out her hand, pressing against his chest to stop him.

"No, listen. I'm still mad at what you did, or more so how you did it. But I want to know the story. I kind of think I deserve it." He just nodded "fine." Words were failing him right now. She wasn't going to bite his head off or start beating on him. Progress. Progress was good.

"Do you want to go now, or whenever you have free time…" She didn't want to be so forward about this. "Now, I need to tell you what happened. Let me grab my keys and we'll go."

She followed him to the entrance of the house while continued to his bedroom to grab his keys and wallet. The two of them left the house wordlessly. Sandra heard the door close behind the two. When no one reappeared, only then did she let out the breath she had been holding. With a huge sigh of relief, she sunk down into the closest chair finally able to relax. There was nothing more she could do right now; the rest was up to them.


	12. Chapter 12

The car ride to Tommy's favorite café was silent. Small talk still didn't suit them. Jude stared at the window the entire ride there, and Tom kept his eyes on the road before him for the most part, when he wasn't sneaking glances at her. The silence was filled with a faint Damien Rice playing in the background. The irony couldn't be more obvious as the lyrics flowed out, each painfully aware of the situation.

_We might kiss _

_when we are alone _

_when nobody's watchin' _

_we might take it home _

Jude kept her gaze fixated on the asphalt that they sped over. She couldn't help but imagine all of their stolen kisses, looks of longing, smiles of understanding. The song continued, making both of them squirm at the poignancy of the lyrics. We might make out, we might live like never before…They did, and they had.

The next verse caught Tommy off guard though he had all but worn out this CD.

_we might make love _

_in some sacred place _

_that look on your face _

_is delicate _

He could vividly remember waking up to the sun streaming through the window of his bedroom, her golden hair cascaded over his pillow and she was so beautiful, a small smile on her face as she slept. The sheet was wrapped tightly around her body. He sat at the stoplight, which had turned green, only to snap out of it with the blaring horn of impatience behind them. He coughed and hit the accelerator.

Several songs later that all seemed to be directed at their situation, he maneuvered the SUV into a parking spot close to the café. With the ignition killed, they both got out, still in silence, neither of them spoke until Tom gave his and her order to the waiter. He had only intended to order his usual double espresso, but he was so used to also ordering Jude's cappuccino with soy milk, it just kind of spilled out. He looked apprehensively towards her and apologized "I'm sorry, I didn't even ask…"

"No, I'm surprised you remembered."

"I remember everything." Another awkward silence and avoided glances.

"So…Cora had fun today?" Jude tried to start something. Anything.

Tommy gave a sigh of relief. He could talk about this. "She loves having her friends over and any excuse to wear a tiara. And she really appreciated you stopping by, thank you for that."

"Well you know, I'm-" Jude was interrupted by the waiter coming back with their drinks. "Thank you" she smiled at him politely, waiting for him to leave before she continued again. "Anyways, yeah, I'm glad I was able to make it. I would hate to break her heart. She seems like such a wonderful girl."

Tommy nodded, sipping his coffee. "She is, though I would have never planned this myself, I wouldn't change it for the world."

"So, how did this all happen? I mean, you left 3 years ago. She's six today."

"I guess…I have a lot of explaining to do." He set down his cup and took a deep breath before launching into his story, the story that involved all the people he loved, or would grow to love. "Five years ago I got a call from someone who I had been seeing on and off before we were, well, a we. It wasn't a healthy relationship. It was all based on the typical touring life, sex, drugs, and rock and roll. That type of thing. We met here in Miami when I was doing an international tour, hit it off, and she traveled with us a bit- she was…a groupie. Back then, I was young and stupid, and thought it was more, but now I see it for what it was. I hadn't heard from her for about a year after the last time we ended it, but she called me one day and told me she needed me to take her. When she said her, I assumed she wanted to hook up again, but then explained that her lifestyle got her arrested. Drugs will do that to you. She just told me that I had a daughter, and left me the address where I could find her."

"You knew for two years before you left, and you did nothing?" Her voice was rising and disbelief was evident.

"No. I did go to get her, remember my week long vacation?"

"You weren't in Winnipeg."

"No, I was here. I went to the address I was given, and was absolutely terrified. I went and saw my daughter. _My_ daughter. Since my ex was in custody, Cora had been set up with Sandra, who was taking care of her. She was only supposed to watch her until I could make permanent arrangements, but after seeing the bond she had formed with her- I knew she was the permanent arrangement." Tom let out a sigh. "I don't know what I would do without Sandra, even to this day."

"She's…one of a kind, that's for sure." Jude's voice had an edge to it, she didn't appreciate being tricked and manipulated by others the way she was in order to get her and Tommy together like this. It was so fake…artificial. She shouldn't be here.

"So you went and saw her, I'm guessing all of your vacations where down here…but why wait Tommy? You had a DAUGHTER that you should have been taking care of."

"Honestly? With things going the way they were, I didn't want to leave you in the middle of an album, and then there was us…" Tom looked up from the pool of black liquid and searched her eyes. Was there any hope for them again? Her eyes were cold.

"So if you were so concerned about this 'us' then why didn't you tell me?" Her voice was growing more and more bitter as the conversation continued.

"Jude, I was 24 and scared shitless, and what was I supposed to do? Pull you aside after we were done mixing one night and offhandedly mention the fact that I had a daughter? Think about that."

"But you could have TRUSTED me, Tommy. But you didn't." Her eyes were rimmed with tears.

"Jude, please, keep your voice down. I don't even know what you want. You give me hell for not being a father when I should have, you give me hell for not being with you and telling you….I didn't know what to do!"

Sniffling, she pulled herself together. "And do you know what you want now?"

He paused and looked at her long and hard. "Yeah, yeah….I know now."

"And what's that?"

"Jude, I want to be with you. I never stopped, but I had other things to take care of."

She nodded slowly, "Well you know what? You had three years to do something, and you didn't. I'm really not sure what was stopping you….we should be getting back, I need to go back to the hotel." She brushed the tears out of her eyes, but remained obstinate.

With a defeated sigh, Tommy threw down money to cover the bill and they got back into his car, driving back in silence again. The Damien Rice CD picked up where it had left off when the car was turned off earlier.

_I remember it well, taxied out of a storm _

_To watch you perform _

_And my ships were sailing _

_I remember it well, I was stood in your line _

_And your mouth, your mouth, your mind _

_Want you here tonight, want you here _

_Cause I can't believe what I found _

_Want you here tonight, want you here _

_Nothing is taking me down, down, down _

_Cept you my love _

_Cept you, my love _


	13. Chapter 13

"And she asked me what I wanted, and I told her. I TOLD her I wanted her, to be with her again. I had never stopped wanting that." Tom's long body was stretched out on the couch in the living room, he had been forced to tell Sandra the entire story when he came home and was stoic and silent for the rest of the evening.

"And she said no?"

"Not so much no, but she was angry at the fact that I didn't do anything over the past three years."

"And you didn't do anything."

"San, what was I supposed to do?" An exasperated sigh escaped his lips and he ran his hands over his face in mild frustration.

"You're pathetic. Pathetic and hopeless. You've seen her three times, THREE, went out with her yesterday, and you still aren't even on friendly terms. Maybe you're just destined to be alone forever. You can be like the old spinster maids with lots and lots of cats who live alone."

Tom lifted his head from the pillow and glared at her. "Not funny."

"And for once, I'm not trying to be funny. Stop acting like such a pansy letting her call all the shots. She's pissed at you. Who wouldn't be, disappearing like that. But Tom, you have to show her that you don't intend to let her go. You're so obstinate and stubborn, did you let her walk all over you when you were together before?"

"No, but that was dif-"

"No, shut up. It was not different. She wants you. It's so disgustingly, painfully obvious after watching her and talking to her. And somehow, I doubt she was attracted to a soft spoken, quiet and bending backwards producer she had for two albums. I know you're capable of being stubborn and forceful when you have to be. Grow a pair, Quincy." With that, Sandra left Tommy to contemplate his next plan of action. He wasn't willing to let her get away again, but he also had no idea of how to get her back.

* * *

"Sadie, you're killing me. Why do we have to go out to a club again. I feel all awkward, and I can't dance to save my life. I have to slap away guys…"

"Oh whatever. You so had fun last time." Jude rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around her knees tighter. She was curled into a little ball at the end of the couch. "Yeah, fun until I had to pry a man's hands out of my pants!"

"Details, details. We're going, so be ready to go by 9:30."

"Uggghhh, what if I'm sick?" Jude raised an eyebrow in hopes that she could still get out of this excursion.

"Nope! No excuses. And you'll have fun. I promise." With a groan, she searched the room for a clock, it was 6:30, at least she would have some time to leave the hotel and go for a walk. The past few days….were crazy and she hadn't had the opportunity to just decompress. Grabbing her card key and cell phone, she left the suite without telling Sadie or Kwest. As she meandered down the hallway, two young children were running and laughing, one chasing the other. A small smile crept on her face.

Over the past year, her maternal side had really started to kick in. Though she had no one special in her life, she was secretly excited at the prospect of settling down one day, starting a family with a husband whom she loved deeply. As much as she enjoyed watching the younger kids sprinting down the hallway, she had to bite her tongue so she didn't call out to them, reminding them to be careful. She was waiting for the elevator and when it dinged its arrival the doors opened to reveal it empty. She was mildly thankful; she strongly disliked the awkward silence between strangers in the small confines of the moving box. Entering it, she pressed the 'G' for ground and the doors closed. She began to hum to herself in the privacy of the elevator. She was making progress with the melody, but it still wasn't there yet. Hopefully she would have something new by the time she made it back home instead of just more half finished songs. Kwest was a great producer, but that's all he could manage. He wasn't the singer/songwriter/ex-boy bander turned producer like Tommy was.

Their hotel had a strip of beach behind it. It wasn't the south beach hot spot, but served its purpose right now. She left her flip flops by the stairs that led to the water. She got close enough for it to roll up onto the shore and over her feet, but not any closer. The rhythmic crashing was soothing and normal, which was the complete opposite of what this 'vacation' was turning out to be.

She shouldn't have been so bi-polar with Tommy, telling him to take care of his daughter and then getting mad when he did. But he was this person she didn't know had existed. She couldn't deny the fact that he had matured a lot. Taking care of Cora the way he did, you could just tell by the way they interacted that she was his world, and she loved him with everything she had. But a dad…she had been dating a man with a child. The idea still freaked her out a bit. What would she have done if he told her? She was 17 when he left, 15 when he found out about Cora. She might have never gotten involved with him. But had he told her when he left, she didn't know if she would gone with him. It would have made their commitment long term. And honestly at the time, she just couldn't handle that sort of emotional burden. It would have been a child taking care of a baby.

Stopping from her shoreline stroll, she looked out to the ocean. It went on forever and ever, past the horizon that the sun was currently setting on. The sky was filled with purple hues and the scenery was perfectly romantic. Jude longed to have someone to share it with. Someone who shared in her passion for music, understood her desires, and stood by her with things got rough. There was only one person who fit that description, but it just seemed like they were in different places in their life. He was playing house and she was in the middle of a still rising career. Touring and music weren't exactly conducive to raising a child. Pressing her lips together she slowly nodded to herself. There was just no feasible way for it to work. With that revelation, she started to head back to the hotel to get ready at Sadie's request. The last thing she wanted to do was get groped by random men, but maybe tonight would be the start of something new.

She understood that she and Tommy just couldn't be and she needed to let that go. Who knows, maybe tonight would lead to a new man of her dreams.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: The songs used are Kelly Clarkson's "I hate myself for losing you" and Shakira's "Hips don't lie"**

The radio was turned up, courtesy of Sadie and Jude was dancing around her suite getting ready, most of the music had a very typical Miami and latin flare so it was easy to get pumped up and start acting silly with the radio on. She was in the process of finishing up her hair when the current song ended and the DJ came on. He had been taking requests all night long, and he had a new caller on the phone.

"Hey, you've reached XL104.7, what can I play for you tonight?" The DJ was quite perky and upbeat.

"I know it's not a usual request, but do you think you could play a song for me called 'I hate myself for losing you' by Jude Harrison." Jude froze with her hair wrapped around the curling iron she was using.

"Sure thing, doll." That voice, it was familiar. What a meddling bitch….Suddenly, Jude got a whiff of the stench of burning hair. "Shit!" She quickly released the handle and untangled the curl from the barrel. The lyrics started up on the radio and every time Jude heard herself on the radio it was still as surreal as the first time. And this time, it felt like she knocked the wind out of herself. The song was written after Tommy had left, she made some blind assumptions that he ran off for someone else sheerly out of her own insecurities as a woman who had been left for no apparent reason.

Once the chorus hit again for the final time, she cringed at the words as they screamed at her and she flashed back to recording this in the studio.

_Jude's eyes were closed and she was completely lost in the music that came over her headphones. The music was rising with a crescendo and her voice was picking up speed, and power. Her eyes were wet with tears but she was trying to hold back so she could make it through this take, and so she wouldn't completely break down and lose it in front of Kwest. She threw herself completely into the ending of the song, her rifts were perfect and despite the raw emotion apparent in her voice, she nailed every note, rhythm, and inflection necessary. _

_I hate myself for losing you _

_I'm seeing it all so, I'm seeing it all so clear _

_I hate myself for losing you _

_What do you do when you look in the mirror _

_And staring at you is why he's not here_

_What do you say when everything you said _

_Is the reason why he left you in the end _

_How do you cry when every tear you shed_

_Won't ever bring him back again_

_I hate myself for loving you_

_As the music faded, Kwest cut the recording and came over the speakers. "That was it, you did it." He didn't know what else to say, but she felt comforted all the same. That was all she needed right now. "Thanks" she managed to croak out. Her eyes were blinking rapidly to keep the tears from falling. _

The song ended on the radio and another fast paced dance song started up. Jude shook her head to jar herself from the memory. 'Tonight. A new beginning.' She reminded herself. She moved on from her hair and started on her makeup taking extra care and precaution in looking flawless. She wanted to be ready for whatever was about to happen. Her eyes were dark and smoky to emphasize her big blue eyes and she kept her lips nude with a hint of gloss. If she had learned anything from the past five years as a musician, it was the tips she had picked up from sitting in the chair of several celebrity makeup artists. Gone were the days of over dyed hair and lots of coal black eyeliner with clumpy mascara.

Stepping back from the mirror she had to admit, she felt pretty good about how she looked "Thank God they won't be able to see what's going on in my head." She walked over to the outfit she had laid out earlier, and slid the robe off of her frame exposing her lacy lingerie set. A strapless black lacy bra with matching hipster panties. A girl had to be ready for anything. She stepped into her jeans which looked all but painted on and pulled her top over her head. It was a simple black tube top with a ring to expose just a touch of cleavage and a halter tie to go around her neck. There was a knock at the door as she finished adjusting her clothing "come in" Kwest stuck his head in, "Hey, I just wanted to- wow. Jude, you look amazing." He faltered for a second once he finally saw her in the room. "Really?"

"Yes, definitely. I just wanted to see if you were ready to go, but you obviously are."

"Yeah, just give me a couple of minutes and I'll be good to go."

"Cool." He closed the door behind him and looked at Sadie and cracked a smile.

"She has no idea, does she?" Sadie asked, raising an eyebrow to her boyfriend.

"None, good thing Tom called me when he did. He's gonna show up an hour or so after we get there. Do you think this is right? We keep going behind her back and conspiring against her." The couple conversed in hushed tones to keep this from Jude.

Sadie got up from the couch she was occupying and went over to her boyfriend, kissing him lightly. "Definitely. I want to see my sister happy, and if my jerky, ass-faced ex-boyfriend is the answer…then we need to do whatever we can." She only joked about how she described Tommy, though things didn't work out between them, she did learn that he hadn't actually cheated on her in due time. And she had been genuinely happy for Jude when they got together. It had been fate, and who was stupid enough to argue with fate?

The adjoining suite door opened and Jude walked through, she walked as if she had come straight off of a catwalk. Sadie smirked at her. "What?" Jude cocked her head to the side curiously.

"Nothing." Her older sister just smiled at her.

"Shut up, don't lie to me."

"You walked differently in heels, that's all."

Jude was thoroughly confused at this, "Good different, or like an ogre who got into the queen's closet different?"

"Good different, you kind of walk like…a bitch." She let out a little laugh at the shocked look on Jude's face.

"A bitch? HOW is that good?"

"It's a confidence thing, if I weren't your sister and a guy…I'd do you."

"Right….we should go before you really say something that weirds me out and I run back into my room."

The trio left the suite and headed towards the car. Maybe she did walk different, her steps were more confident, and the clicking of her heels did boost her self esteem a little bit. Not to mention she had a definite sway in her hips tonight, and her strides were longer and more assertive. Okay, yes. She walked a like a bitch. And she felt pretty good about it.

The ride to the club was uneventful, and Jude spent most of her time looking out the window at the lights of the Miami night life. This seemed to be another one of those cities that never sleeps. She felt a sense of excitement with that, much different from her cold and at times drab Canadian life.

They made it to the club and walked right to the front and passed the ropes without any problem. Oh the perks of being famous. The club was loud and packed, but that was to be expected. Maybe they would even run into Diddy tonight. This was one of his staple clubs.

Jude leaned over to her sister and yelled to be heard "I'm gonna go to the dance floor!"

"I thought you didn't dance?"

"So I lied." A coy smile crossed her face and she disappeared into the crowd. The time was passing quickly and they had been there for awhile but Jude was showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

From their table, Kwest and Sadie sat there, waiting in anticipation for Tommy to show up. She really looked happy out there, they truly hoped they were doing the right thing.

Minutes later, Kwest felt a pair of hands clasp onto his shoulders, he turned around to see his best friend. Kwest acknowledge him as usually did. "Hey Man" with a little head nod. Sadie shook her head. "You men. As if nothing has changed."

"Nice to see you too, Sades" She went to hug him "Don't screw this up Quincy."

"I have no intention to, but I can't figure her out. Wounded puppy didn't suit me well though. I should get going though." He jerked his head in the direction of the dance floor. They both nodded and smiled, as if bestowing their blessing on him. Tommy managed to make his way up to Jude from behind and she was still completely oblivious to the fact that he was there, much less only feet away. A new song started, and Jude was really getting into it. She moved the same way she had before when he watched her. Just like a charmed snake, so alluring, Tommy moved towards her as if she was a magnet. He had no choice but to try and get closer to her.

With Tommy right behind her, he started to dance against her, moving to the rhythm she dictated. She was receptive to the body behind her, but in usual club fashion didn't bother to turn around to see the random man grinding against her.

_I'm on tonight  
You know my hips don't lie  
And I'm starting to feel it's right  
All the attraction, the tension  
Don't you see baby, this is perfection_

Tommy put his hands on her hips, a slightly possessive action, but not demanding like most creeps who would try and start to work their fingertips under the waistband of her jeans. As they rocked back and forth, his hands guided her and made sure she didn't try to go anywhere. The bass was driving and they could feel it pulsing through their bodies.

_I never really knew that she could dance like this  
She makes a man want to speak Spanish  
Como se llama, bonita, mi casa, su casa_

Everyone else seemed to be fading away from the pair, there was music and them. Nothing else existed or mattered at the moment. Jude was surprised that this mystery man didn't make any efforts to cross the line. Pleasantly surprised, she didn't put to much thought into it, she just wanted to feel right now and this was heaven. Feeling a definite connection with him, she contemplated turning around to face him for the rest of their dance. Her hands were resting on top of his, and she could easily move them for a moment to face him. '_A new beginning, right?' _With her new resolve, she held onto his hands and pulled them away for a second, spinning before Tom had a chance to register what was happening. She spun and looked into the face of her mystery partner. Her body froze and a split second later she tried to get away.

He wasn't about to let that happen. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her towards him. Her body felt against his and he wordless wrapped one arm around her as to not let her get away. He started to dance again, quickly picking up the beat once more. His hand fall the small of her back and soon she was moving with him again. Their eyes never left each other and the music continued to pound out the bass line.

The song couldn't be more perfect as both of them were acutely aware of everything going on right now.

_Oh baby when you talk like that  
You know you got me hypnotized  
So be wise and keep on  
Reading the signs of my body_

Something else was in control of her body and she moved closer to Tommy, lifting a leg to wrap around his body as the song continued on, her arms snaked around his neck. It was beginning to get difficult to tell where one began and the other ended.

_Oh, you know I am on tonight and my hips don't lie  
And I am starting to feel it's right  
The attraction, the tension  
Baby, like this is perfection  
No fighting  
No fighting _

The song ended and they stopped moving, with the moment over, Jude found herself awkwardly positioned around Tommy, they might as well have been having sex on the floor right there. Her leg slid down the side of his body to the ground and she removed her arms from around his neck. He took a hold of her wrists again and leaned in towards her. "We need to talk." He led her off the dance floor and they disappeared out of the vantage point Kwest and Sadie had sitting on the second floor, watching the entire act transpire.

Sadie was the first to speak up, "Umm….whew. That was kind of hot." She exhaled the breath she had apparently been holding while watching them.

"If that doesn't do it….nothing will." Kwest shook his head, in a state of shock at what had just taken place.


	15. Chapter 15

She had no idea where this person had come from, but it was the Tommy she missed, the one she had longed for, for three years now. The one that made her light headed, dizzy and swoonish. His hand on her lower back felt like fire as it came in contact with her damp skin since her shirt had ridden up a bit while they were dancing. But dancing didn't exactly justly describe what just happened.

The crowd was thinning as they continued down a hallway lined with doors, a bulky steroid hound standing at each door, preventing entry from anyone unwanted. Making it down to the very end of the hallway, Tommy casually tipped his head and the man guarding their particular door opened it for them as they stepped inside. Jude stood in the middle of the room, dumbfounded. She was completely numb to anything happening around her. When Tommy advanced towards her from the closed door she made no effort to back away, nor any to move closer.

He no longer had the starved predatory look in his eyes as he did while they were dancing, but it wasn't the sad, pleading look she had seen the last few days. The distance between them was closing and Jude just stood there, wide eyed with her breath caught in her throat. His hands naturally found their way to her hips.

"You're going to listen to me, and you won't protest." The new found assertiveness made her heart race. She was drowning in everything she had ever felt for him, and couldn't stop herself. "Tom-"

Instead of verbally stopping her, his lips found their way to hers, crashing down with desire. His arms glided along her back and his fingers quickly became entangled in her hair. Jude was so conflicted with the sensory onslaught, her body had shut down on her and she stood there limp like a fish on a line, but her lips met his with an equal reaction. His tongue seeked admittance to her mouth which she willingly granted. She shouldn't be doing this, no, no, no. Snapping out of her trance, she pulled back from him, panting for air. Untangling herself from his grip, she began to pace frantically around the room, trying to smooth her hair and straighten her clothing which was askew at the moment.

"no, no, no…" Her voice was frantic and full of panic. Tom ran his fingers through his hair. Not exactly the reaction he was expecting. He wasn't about to give up though, she was all his in the confines of this room.

"Jude…stop." His voice was strong and unyielding.

"You expect that to make this okay? I had given up, finally let go. After three years of hell and hoping you would come back, I finally resolved earlier that maybe tonight I would finally meet the man of my dreams, the person who I was supposed to be with, and then you…you show up and have to screw everything up again! Why can't you just let me be?" Her eyes begged for an answer.

"Did you ever think for once that I wanted to tell you? Or that I wanted to call you every day that I was gone? Jude, you were still a kid! Why would I have put that burden and responsibility on you? A kid taking care of an infant." The last part stuck a chord within her; she had said the same thing earlier out on the beach. "I was not about to let you even CONSIDER ruining your career over a guy, another stupid guy." Tommy shook his head in disappointment. He wasn't even good enough for her, but he hoped for the chance to try.

Jude caught his gaze, even he didn't think he was good enough for her, she realized. He really thought that no one was… "Tommy, you were all I ever wanted. Making music wasn't important unless it was with you. Going to the studio meant nothing, unless you would be there. I wasn't kidding when I said you were my wingman. I started this for myself, because I had things I wanted to say, but I kept going because I knew that you had things that you wanted to say too. Things that you wanted people to hear. You kept me going when Jamie left me, Speid, you were always there. I understand why you left, she deserved a father…but I deserved an explanation." It felt good to get all that out, to let him know, but it still hurt all the same. Tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving stains of mascara.

And even through it all, she was still beautiful to Tommy. Broken, vulnerable, and beautiful. "Shh, come here." His voice was full of compassion but still hadn't lost the potent edge from earlier. She silently obeyed and found herself in his arms once again, tears streaming down her face and dampening the shoulder of his shirt. He led her to one of the couches in the room and they both sat down, she curled up against him, still crying. "Shh" He whispered to her as if he was trying to comfort his own daughter. His hand lifted her head and he wiped away the tears that were still falling.

His eyes were burning into her and she felt inadequate under his gaze. Despite all of her uncertainties and fears surfacing she leaned in, closed her eyes and kissed him softly. It was nothing like their time on the dance floor, or the kissed they had shared earlier. But this was an important one. Another milestone for them. Her hands tangled themselves in his dark hair and their mouths understood each other's needs, hopes, and fears. Finally, the one person who understood her, and the one who got him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: The song used at the end is by Tristan Prettyman 'Electric'.**

Neither of them realized how long they had been sitting there, complacent in each other's company. Tommy stroked her sleek hair, and she just sat completely relaxed curled against him, but without the tears this time.

"Tommy?" She looked up at him.

"Yeah?"

"I need some fresh air, can we get out of here?"

"Sure, where do you want to go?"

Jude bit her lip contemplatively, "Anywhere that's not here right now."

The two straightened their appearances and emerged from the private room trying to look as pulled together as they could though they were so completely unhinged by each other at the moment. Her hair was still rather mussed and with her runny mascara, she was quite a sight and plenty of other people got the wrong impression, smirking at the pair as they left. The two left the humid club and into the cool Miami night. He led the way to car he came in, and Jude smiled to herself. "Did you get bored of the Hummer and Viper?"

"I will never get tired of my Viper. But this is a little safer."

"Ohhh, someone finally tamed Quincy."

He smirked at her, "Only when she's awake." Jude caught his meaning and blushed at the meaning behind his words.

"Right…"

"So where do you want to go?" The duo hoped into the car like so many years ago. "My hotel." Tommy coughed and his eyes widened. "You perve, there's a beach behind it. That is where I want to go."

"I knew that."

Jude giggled. "Yeah…I'm not so sure."

They chatted about random things, his car, Cora, Sandra, that meddling….well, you know. The ride was short and they were there in no time. She now led Tommy down to the staircase, she took of her shoes and left them at the bottom stair and he followed suit. The barefoot couple rolled up their jeans and made their way down to the water. Despite the lights from hotel rooms and random buildings behind them, they sky was filled with bright stars and the moon shone down on them. Jude reached for Tommy's hand and their fingers intertwined as they walked down to the shore. The water missing them by inches.

After a few minutes of silence Jude started talking again, "So, Mr. Quincy. What have you been up to?"

"Umm…what?"

"Career wise. It can't be easy to be one of the most sought after producers in Canada and soon to be North America, then just poof. Disappear without a trace."

"I had to practically call on David Copperfield. But seriously, I moved down here and got in touch with a recording studio down here, and now I sit on the board of advisors as a silent partner within the company."

Jude stopped walking and gawked at him. "For Shame Quincy! You went all Liam on us!"

"Minus the pretentious accent and stick up my ass, pretty much. But you know, you gotta do what you gotta do."

They continued to walk again, and her barrage of questions continued. "And what about Cora? I want to know everything about her."

"Everything, that could take days…"

"Well, I have a lot of free time right now. Here, sit."

The two sat down on some dry sand and Jude started grabbing handfuls, only to let them slip through her grip over and over again. "So what did you think when you found out you had a daughter?"

"Honestly? My first reaction was that she was horribly deformed because my ex probably didn't take care of herself during her pregnancy, drinking, illegal substances, the like. I was so afraid that she wouldn't be able to grow up normally. All of that was after the initial shock of being a father, but it was my first thought about her."

Jude smiled at his honest concern. "But she was okay?"

"Surprisingly. She wasn't born dependant on any substances and had a decent birth weight. The pediatrician couldn't figure out how she was so strong and resilient after he learned what her developmental conditions were like."

"Sounds like quite the miracle."

"She was…is." His voice swelled with pride. Jude felt a smile creep onto her face and she had no power to stop it. She loved men with children, especially lately. "I really do appreciate the fact that you showed up for her on Saturday. She couldn't stop talking about how happy she was because of it."

"I was more than happy to show up. Even if Sandra used Cora to manipulate me into running into you again," She paused for a second to look up at him, "I would do it again." They smiled at each other, just sitting there enjoying the soothing sounds of the waves and the crisp air that enveloped them.

"So what does she like to do?"

"What does she like to do?" Tommy chuckled. "She loves to wear her old dad out, for sure." Jude's stomach flipped as Tommy referred to himself as a dad and she practically felt her ovaries launch themselves into warp-speed production. "She loves to color, and is obsessed with princesses, but you've seen her room. She loves to go to the park, fly kites. She's pretty simple. I like the fact that she's a child how a child should be. She doesn't enjoy sitting in front of the TV for hours on end, but she does love her Disney Princess movies. She doesn't care about computer games or video games. She likes sunshine and fresh air. It's refreshing from those typical bratty kids who want nothing to do with their parents."

"Or their parents want nothing to do with them. It just seems so much easier for them to throw them in front of a screen."

"But it's not right." He shook his head at the lack of parenting ability exhibited by most parents now.

"That's what makes you a spectacular father." She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm far from spectacular."

"But you're trying, and that's all that matters." Jude let out a sigh and Tommy looked down at her, "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just….I can't figure you out, Quincy. Boyz Attacker with all the right moves and smooth voice, producer extraordinaire, Lo-um, lovely father, what don't you do well, or haven't done at all?"

'Committed' he thought to himself. "Well, what can I say, I'm just about perfect like Adonis."

"Shut up" She laughed and lightly smacked his arm. A yawn over took her, "What time is it?" Tommy looked at his watch. "Oh wow…it's just about three. I should head back, early day tomorrow since I have to go into the office."

"Ah, king of all that is corporate now." He smiled and leaned his head atop hers. "Something like that, at least it pays the bills."

The pair stood up and brushed the sand off of themselves. Tommy couldn't help but stare at Jude as she dusted herself off. She noticed his gaze and squirmed "What?"

"Nothing…" He just smiled at her.

"Tell me."

"Nope." He started laughing.

"You don't have a choice. Tell me, now!" She started to pout.

"Yeah, and if I don't?"

"I'll-" Jude went to start running towards Tommy who was about five steps ahead, but he quickly turned around and started sprinting back to the hotel stairs. Tommy started to slow down, and Jude closed the gap between them. "Old age must be catching up to you!" She launched herself at his back and wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. "Oomph!" He stumbled a few steps but managed not to fall. "All of that because I wouldn't tell you how beautiful you looked?"

"What a schmoozer." She lightly kissed him on the cheek and his strong arms supported her as they made their way back to the hotel.

Once they had reached the room of her suite, the stood there, much like awkward teenagers after a first date, just kind of looking at each other. Hoping their breath was fresh enough, who would make the first move, what to say….should they say anything?

"I…guess I'll see you later." She looked down at her sandy toes.

"Yeah…"

Disappointed with their parting, she started to turn the doorknob but found his hand over hers stopping her. Looking up to see why he did that, his lips gently captured hers but then pulled away before she had a chance to really react. With a twinkle in his eye he smiled and whispered his goodbye, and turned away to leave her there elated, nervous and with butterflies ready to carry her away.

She tried to quietly open the door and not wake Sadie and Kwest from their room that was adjoined to the shared living room. She tiptoed over to her door but her progress was halted by a rouge ottoman that seemed to jump in front of her. She tripped over it and was catapulted at her door, hitting it with no grace or elegance. Noise could be heard from the other room 'you get up' 'no, you go' And there was a rustling of sheets seconds before the door opened. "Jude?" A very tired sounding Kwest strained in the dark to try and identify the perpetrator. "Yeah, sorry it's me."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine….go back to sleep."

"Okay…good to know you're back in one piece…get some sleep." With that, the door closed again and Jude blindly searched for her own doorknob, she finally found it and twisted it to gain entry to her room. Once she was inside with the door closed, she flicked the light switch and the room was flooded with light. She changed out of her clothes that had the lingering scent of Tommy and salt water, and into something more comfortable. She pulled her hair up, and washed her face, ridding it of any traces of smeared makeup or tear stained cheeks. She picked up her notebook on her way to her bed, and crawled under the sheets. All of a sudden the bed felt too big for just one person. Shaking it off, she opened to a new blank page and started to write, the first verse just flowed out, followed by a chorus, a second verse and she continued until she proudly looked at the final product. A finished song. She scanned over the lyrics looking for minors changes to be made. She started to quietly hum a melody and sang the words in her head:

_These tears stain the wood  
Like cups and condensation  
I am bound to you  
I cannot break the situation  
_

_He's every subject  
Of every song  
Like the wind carries  
He moves me along  
_

_And the shadows I can't run from  
They won't let me go  
He's the ending of a story  
That I'll never know_

_He's electric  
Can't forget it  
Yeah he's electric  
Don't forget it_

_Sometimes he fills me up  
Sometimes it's such a shock  
This is more than I bargained for  
More than I would have bought_

_You still look at me  
With well acquainted eyes  
As the memories come flooding back  
In a field of butterflies_

_It's electric  
Don't forget  
Yeah it's electric  
I can't forget it_

_I know there's hope in there  
But I wanna walk away  
He's says it's bright in there  
Even in lighter shades of grey_

_And though it looks like rain  
I'm not gonna cry  
As the seasons are changing  
In your heart_

_So will I  
I will fly  
Electric  
Oh yes the seasons are changing_

_Ohh yes the seasons are changing  
I'm burning up  
I'm burning up  
I'm electric_

She smiled to herself. Her muse was back, and so was her music. Closing the notebook, she dropped it on the floor beside her bed and rolled over to turn out the light. With a smile on her face, she drifted off to sleep thinking about Tommy and the rollercoaster they had taken on tonight.


	17. Chapter 17

**A: Hi guys! Thank you for being so patient with me and updating. Just some news- the story is completely, utterly done. And I feel pretty good about that, I got a ton of positive feedback from DLS, the Instant Star MB, and if you haven't been, you should definitely check it out. PM me for the link. With all that said, read, enjoy, review and I'll work on getting the rest of the story up soon. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Tristan Prettyman's song, Electric, I don't own starbucks (but I surely wish I did), and I still don't own the IS characters.**

After what seemed like minutes of a nap, her cellphone was ringing on the nightstand next to her. Her vision was still blurred with sleep and the sudden light and visual overload so she neglected to check the caller ID.

"Hello?" Her voice was groggy and begged to go back to sleep.

"Some things just don't change, huh?" Jude's stomach flipped at his voice.

"So…early." She collapsed into her pillows, surrounded by the warm cocoon she had made for herself.

"7am after getting to sleep at 4 will do that to you." Despite his lack of sleep, he sounded surprisingly chipper.

"How are you so awake?"

"Sandra makes this fantastic Colombian coffee, it's like the strongest legal drink on the face of the planet, I live off of it at times like this."

"Late night's often Quincy?"

"Not exactly what you're thinking, sorry to disappoint."

"Mmm…well, you know. Oh, guess what I did last night?"

"Lament my having to leave you?"

"You wish. I wrote a song. I really can't wait to get back into the studio, I haven't been this excited since wrapping my second album…" Jude continued to chatter on but Tommy drifted from her, thinking of the late night they had spent together mixing the album after Darius rejected the first take. He couldn't be mad at them forcing them to stay after the events that transpired. "…so you're not listening anymore. Hey Tom, I think you should stop by for a quickie." From Jude's end, she heard coughing and sputtering from his end along with another driver laying on their horn.

"Everything okay over there?" Jude asked sweetly trying to stifle her laughter.

"You're evil."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well since you have no idea what I'm talking about, I guess the free studio time I was going to offer you just filled up."

Jude gasped but whispered into the phone. "Are you serious? But I don't want to make Kwest work on vacation."

Tom turned into the parking lot of the label he was now with. "I do remember how to press record, and I doubt there would be any mixing done, why don't you stop by around one. I need to go and pick Cora up during lunch because Sandra has some things she needed to get done, but I'll be back and it'll be like old times."

Jude heard how hopeful he sounded. Old times…She didn't know if that could never happen again, not yet at least.

He gave her all the information she needed to navigate the city and make it to the studio. They said their goodbyes and Jude was on a complete and utter high. She practically floated out of her room, fully alert and unaware of the fact that she had only gotten about three hours of sleep. Kwest and Sadie looked up surprised when she emerged from her room so early after her late night.

"You're up early." Sadie raised an eyebrow.

"Well, couldn't sleep anymore." She grabbed a fresh orange from the array of fruit and pastries that room service had set up in the wee hours of the morning. Making quick work of the peel, she didn't feel the couples's stares initially. Finally looking up, she noticed both of them looking at her. Trying to search her mind and find some sort of explanation for her disappearance, her time with Tommy, and their moment on the dance floor.

"…What?"

"Don't give 'what?' Tell me. We saw you guys."

Jude just shrugged, indifferent. "It happened, he pushed me off the floor to talk to me, whatever."

"And you didn't get back until three in the morning because…?" Sadie had no intentions of dropping this.

"I needed to do some thinking. That's all. Really, I don't want to talk about it." _I don't want to jinx it…_She started to thoughtfully chew on her orange and Sadie's interrogation ceased for now.

Once noon rolled around, Jude quickly got ready and stole the keys off of the living room table "I need to borrow the car! Bye!" With protesting from their room, the door slammed shut and she was gone.

It felt good to be driving down the highway with the windows rolled down and her hair blowing in the warm summer air. She found the place easily enough after stopping off for an icy caffeinated beverage at one of the million Starbucks locations she had passed on her drive there. She was surprisingly early considering she never made her own studio times at home. She sat down in the lobby, watching the buzz of music before her eyes. She could never imagine leaving this type of environment. There was something far too exciting and new about it ever day. The creative process and the musical genius she surrounded herself with was her drug of choice.

She was watching someone record in the nearest studio with glass walls, they seemed to be pouring their heart out, but a little voice calling out her name caught her attention. Turning her head, she saw Cora running towards her in gleeful excitement. "Aw, com'ere!" Jude got off the couch and kneeled on the floor to give Cora a hug as she ran into Jude's open arms. She pulled away after a second, "So, how does it feel to be six now?"

Cora thought about it carefully, seeming to truly ponder the difference from before.  
"Kind of the same…." Her face wrinkled in disappointment.

"But you know…now you need two hands to count how old you are." Jude nodded seriously before breaking out into a smile.

Cora seemed to brighten at that new revelation. "So you here to watch your dad work?" Cora's head bobbed up and down enthusiastically. "Alright, so let's go." She stood up, and took Cora's hand.

Looking up at Tommy, she just smiled "Lead the way?"

The trio made their way down a hallway to the empty studio. It was nice, admittedly nicer than G-Major but she preferred the hominess and close-knit family she had there. Tommy swiped an ID card and the door unlocked. "Ladies first," he held the door open for them then closed it behind himself. Jude looked around mildly impressed with what she saw before her. She apprehensively made her way to the recording area, feeling strange and a little like a traitor in the new environment. Grasping her notebook in one hand she slowly walked over to the microphone in the middle of the room. She picked up the headphones around the neck of the mic and slid them over her ears. Tommy's voice flooded the headset "You ready to do this?"

Jude raised an eye, not missing a beat. "Are you ready to show me how it's done?"

Tommy looked at her in mock surprise. "There is a child in the room, keep the innuendo down to a minimum."

"Daddy?" Cora spoke up for the first time since they and entered the studio, she sounded perplexed. Tommy looked at her with concern. "What's wrong honey?"

"What does in…in-nu-endo mean?"

"Playful banter. Don't worry about it." A blush crept up his cheeks. His daughter was too quick for him to handle sometimes. Jude laughed and Tommy turned back to her his eyes a little bugged from his daughter's question.

"Mr. Quincy, I have a song waiting to be sung, can we begin now?"

"Anything you want." He sat down in the chair and pressed the record button then nodded at her to begin.

Jude had always had a tendency to sing with her eyes closed, she always put everything into her music, and it was very personal for her. Her eyes closed helped her to pretend like nothing else existed and they weren't people in the adjacent room critiquing every note, rhythm, chord of her guitar. But this time was different. She looked right at Tommy the entire time, a smile on her face while she sang.

_These tears stain the wood  
Like cups and condensation  
I am bound to you  
I cannot break the situation_

_He's every subject  
Of every song  
Like the wind carries  
He moves me along_

_And the shadows I can't run from  
They won't let me go  
He's the ending of a story  
That I'll never know_

_He's electric  
Can't forget it  
Yeah he's electric  
Don't forget it_

Her voice was timid to begin with but she grew more comfortable with him sitting there again, listening to every word. She tried to get a read on him but couldn't figure out if he was listening as a producer or as her…her…what was he to her right now?

_Sometimes he fills me up  
Sometimes it's such a shock  
This is more than I bargained for  
More than I would have bought_

_You still look at me  
With well acquainted eyes  
As the memories come flooding back  
In a field of butterflies_

_It's electric  
Don't forget  
Yeah it's electric  
I can't forget it_

Cora was gently swaying to the song Jude sang. She was a smart girl, but the implications in the lyrics were passing over her head. She was young and didn't need to be bogged down with the confusion between her father and this new woman in his life.

Jude continued to stare at Tommy intently and he made no effort to break their connection as she wrapped up the song.

_I know there's hope in there  
But I wanna walk away  
He's says it's bright in there  
Even in lighter shades of grey_

_And though it looks like rain  
I'm not gonna cry  
As the seasons are changing  
In your heart_

_So will I  
I will fly  
Electric  
Oh yes the seasons are changing_

_Ohh yes the seasons are changing  
I'm burning up  
I'm burning up  
I'm electric_

Jude went quiet and Tommy stopped the recording. She looked at him apprehensively, and a little scared. "So…what'd you think?" She bit her lip, almost afraid of his answer.

"I miss this."

"This?" This held so many implications. And unfortunately, he wasn't about to clarify right now. "Yeah, this." He gently smiled at her but left her answerless.

Tommy looked down at Cora who was playing a game of intertwining her fingers and trying to make as many new combinations as possible. "I think we're done in this stuffy place Cora, how about we go to the park?" Cora perked up and looked at her dad, wide eyed with excitement. "Really? Can Jude come with us?" Tom shrugged and looked to her for an answer. She casually shrugged and smiled "sure, why not."

The two adults made arrangements for Jude to follow him to the park since they had two vehicles with them. As they were going to their respective cars Cora stopped in the middle of the parking lot. "Daddy, can I ride with Jude?"

"Honey, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Oh lighten up Quincy, my driving has gotten much better."

"Uh huh…"

"Pleeeaassseee, daddy?" Tommy quickly gave in as Cora skillfully manipulated him into getting her way.

"Okay, okay. Remember to wear a seat belt."

Cora bounded off with Jude and they got into the car, rolled the windows down and were off, following Tommy to the park. She chatted on, full of excitement, but she eventually said something that caught Jude's attention.

"I think my daddy likes you."

"Really now? Why do you think that?" Jude kept her eyes on the road, but was intrigued that his little girl realized this.

"He likes to look at you a lot when you're around; he did it at my party, and did it again today. And he's a lot happier too."

"Well your dad and I are old friends. It's been nice to see him again." Jude tried to shrug off Cora's very intuitive comments.

"I don't know" Cora shook her head skeptically like a 30 year old trapped in a six year old's body. Jude couldn't help but laugh. "You are too much Cora, where do you get it from?"

"Miss Sandra." She stated simply.

Jude should have known.


	18. Chapter 18

While Jude was watching Cora run into some friends of hers from school, Tom had taken the liberty of getting ice cream for the two of them at a cart vendor in the park. Coming back, he had two cups and handed her one of them. "I'm surprised you remembered."

"Cookie dough, of course. Unfortunately, I couldn't exactly ask them to pick out all of the chocolate pieces for you."

"Well this is good enough, thank you." They sat there watching after Cora, "So…" Jude started, picking out the pieces of cookie dough from her ice cream while disregarding the chocolate.

"So…" Tommy repeated, nodding his head.

"You miss this?"

"Yeah."

"Which...this?"

"Just this." He smiled looking at how frustrated this made her. "Don't think to hard about it."

Over the next few days, Jude was spending more and more time with Tommy and Cora. Kwest and Sadie would have been completely left in the dark aside from the fact that Sandra worked at Tom's house and made sure to keep them updated while Jude continually denied any sort of positive outcome from their talk after the club. She was spending the days with Cora swimming and watching her while Tommy was at work, freeing Sandra up to take care of other things. Like plotting, or finding new ways to meddle in other's lives- her typical fare. Cora still wouldn't let go of the fact that Jude was more than friends with her father though despite both of their protests when she asked them about it.

This particular day, Jude had come over early as she had promised Cora to spend the day with her and stay for dinner. After dinner, once Cora was ready for bed the three of them sat down and watched Cinderella. Tommy and Cora sang and recited most of the lines while Jude was too busy laughing at the duo to join in. Though she was now used to Tom, the father and business professional, she still had a hard time understanding that it was still her Tommy, former Boyz Attacker and ex-producer/boyfriend. She still couldn't make the connection that they were the same person. As Tom, Jude was falling head over heels for him, but when she saw Tommy, her heart still broke.

Cora stopped reciting lines, and her eyelids fluttered closed despite the cheery singing mice on the screen. Thinking she was sound asleep, Tom scooped her up into his arms can carried her to her room. Jude got up and stretched before turning off the TV and straightening up a bit- another maternal habit she had picked up within the last year. When she finished her nit-picky straightening, she turned off the living room lights and was prepared to head out. The last time she would be leaving this house. It was fun while it lasted, but it would be over now. She had to fly back to Canada and get back into the daily grind of things.

Her eyes weren't yet adjusted to the darkness, and she jumped when she felt Tom grab her hand. He gently tugged to signal her to follow him. The pair crept quietly through the house like two teenagers sneaking around and they finally reached a door. He opened it, but it just led to another dark room until he flicked on the light switch and she saw a very masculine room before her eyes. His very masculine room. Jude unconsciously licked her lips and that was the end of it. Tommy pursued her, standing dumbly in the middle of the room, pulling her to his body and kissing her hard. Jude didn't even bother to fight it this time and melted into his arms, kissing with equal desire and need.

He pulled away from her lips, grinned like a Cheshire cat while pulling at the hem of her shirt. She lifted her arms to help him rid her of the garment, silently thanking the fates for wearing sexy lingerie since their night at the club in hopes that maybe something like this would come up. Tommy walked her back until she forcefully hit the wall behind her. He began to make quick work on her neck and collarbone. Kissing, licking, and nipping at the delicate skin. "Ohh," Jude couldn't help but whimper "I've missed that." She sighed in a state of ecstasy, running her fingers through his hair. A small knock came from the door and Jude tensed up. "Tom, what was that?"

"Nothing, you're hearing things." His hot breath lit her on fire and he continued his work ravaging her exposed skin, making his way down to her stomach.

Another knock, a little louder now was followed by a small voice. "Daddy?" Tom stopped and looked up at Jude who looked like she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Not moving he answered through the door. "Yes Cora?"

"Are you okay? I heard a thud come from the room. And thought you were hurt. And I heard voices." Jude started to crack up silently while Tom tried to keep the amusement out of his voice, "No baby, I'm okay and I was um…making a phone call. Go back to sleep, are you going to be okay going by yourself?"

"Yeah, night daddy, I love you."

"I love you too Cora, I'll see you in the morning." You could hear her small feet patter across the tile and into the hallway. Tommy let out a sigh and his head fell against Jude's stomach. She had to try in earnest to not laugh out loud. "That was worse than a teenager getting caught by their parents." She whispered to him with laughter in her eyes. He stood up and went over to the bedroom door, quietly opening it and poking his head outside. There were no signs of life so he quietly closed the door again, locking it this time just incase.

The devilish grin reappeared on his face as he made his way back to Jude with his hungry eyes. Jude walked up to him meeting him halfway, unzipping her jeans and pushing them off her hips. Within a few steps, she had stepped out of them and had wrapped her arms around him again, kissing him lightly at first, but he quickly intensified it. When she pulled back for air she couldn't help but comment "apparently the daughter does nothing to kill the mood for you."

"Not when I've been waiting three years for you again." Jude's hands wandered down to his belt, and made haste to undo the buckle and rid of him of the denim. She stared at him with an intensity he had never seen in Jude. With both of them down to undergarments they made their way to the bed. She fell back onto his bed and he soon followed. They continued to ravage each other. Pulses were racing, tongues dueled and hands wandered over each other's heated bare flesh. With Tom straddling Jude, he lifted her to a sitting position to reach around her back and undo the clasp of her bra. Rusty with lack of practice he fumbled with the closure and Jude suddenly became acutely aware of where she was and what she was doing. She pulled herself away from Tommy's lips short of breath and puffy mouthed. "Wait" she panted out. He looked at her confused. "Tom, I can't…we can't do this."

"What? Why not? If you're worried about Cora-"

"No, it's not Cora. It's us. What are we?"

"Titles and labels don't mean anything." He leaned in for another kiss to distract her and get back to where they had left off.

"No, stop." She put her hand out on his chest. After a second he fell back onto the bed in frustration. "Maybe not to you, but I randomly run into you over a thousand miles away from home three years after the last time I see you. Your nanny cons me into running into you again, you seduce me in a club, and a no more than two weeks after I mysteriously run into you, I'm half naked on your bed. I can't do this. Not right now. And plus, I'm leaving tomorrow. You know that."

Disappointment was clearly written on his face as he stood up off the bed he inhaled deeply only to exhale loudly, running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm really sorry, but-"

"No. Don't worry about it. I'm just a little…worked up right now." His hands rubbed his face while he paced at the foot of the bed trying to calm down.

"I should probably go." Jude stood up and her entire body blushed with embarrassment as she gathered her clothes and got dressed again to leave. Tom put his jeans back on before they left his room and he escorted her to the front door.

Before leaving she turned to him "I really am sorry." Tom just gave her an apologetic smile before kissing her forehead, "its okay, I'll be seeing you again anyway."

"But I'm leaving tomorrow and won't be coming back. Not that I know of at least."

"Fate brought you back. I trust it now."

Jude reached up on the tips of her toes and softly kissed him before whispering goodbye and walking out of his house. Tom closed the door and leaned against it. He wanted to try and figure out if that was a goodbye forever, or for now, but first and foremost he needed a cold shower.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Lyrics are by Nelly Furtado, the song is Let My Hair Down.**

They say hindsight is 20/20, and with Jude continually thinking of her late night pseudo-romp with Tommy, she wasn't a hundred percent sure she made the right decision. Well, I mean, no. She did make the right decision; unfortunately the 'right' decision was killing her. When she got back to her room, she undressed like she normally would, but her fingers trailed over the spots Tommy had teased with his tongue starting from the crook of her neck to her collarbone and she delicately traced the path he took between her breasts. She stood before her bathroom mirror and silently berated herself for chickening out the way she did. 'But it was the right thing to do' she kept telling herself. That didn't end the battle raging in her head though. Once she was managed to stuff her memories of the night into her laundry bag along with the clothes she wore, she started on the packing that she had neglected for the past few days since she was out of the room so much.

The next day at the airport, she couldn't help but look around in hopes that Tommy would surprise her, running up to the gate and sweeping her off of her feet. Yeah. Fat chance. A girl could hope though, and hope she did as she turned around one last time to scan the crowd before walking down the connecting hallway to the door of the aircraft.

"You need to stop testing him, Jude."

"Hu-what?"

"You set up these impossible tests for him, you want him to go too far so you can pull away, you want him to chase you down to prove something to you, you want him to do all of these things, and regardless of if he succeeds or not, you get mad because he didn't do the opposite. It's like you feel the need to see the distance he's willing to go. Jude, hopefully he'll still be there when you're done playing games." Jude blankly looked at her sister as they stood off to the side of the departure gate. Sadie gave her a melancholy smile before intertwining her fingers with her younger sister's and they turned to board the plane.

An entire month had passed and life was back to what she could consider seemingly normal. Darius couldn't be happier with the progress and turn around she had made since before her trip. Songs were pouring out of her and her energy level was remarkably high during her takes and it lasted throughout the long studio nights.

Jude was in the middle of another take when Kwest's voice came over her headset. "Jude?" She opened her eyes a little peeved that he was interrupting a good take, "I need to take this," He held up his phone, "Go ahead and take a break. When I get back, we'll keep going. Okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." She sat on the stool in the booth with no desire to leave. She was becoming a workaholic who only felt comfortable with the mics hot. It helped her to forget the fact that she missed him like crazy. She wanted him to call her first. He should…right?

She flipped open her phone and scrolled down to his cell phone number and her thumb hovered over the call button contemplatively. She should just suck it up and call him. Sadie's words echoed in her head about testing him and secretly wanting him to fail so she wouldn't have to take the plunge and be with him now.

Connecting to Tommy flashed on her screen while the little phone icon danced about her screen. She lifted the phone to her ear and held her breath while it rang. He probably wouldn't even answer.

"Hello?"

Crap. He did.

"Umm…."

"Jude?"

"Hi." She finally exhaled all the air she had been holding captive in her lungs in that one word.

"Hey, how are you? I didn't think I'd be hearing from you." His sadness was evident.

"Honestly?"

"Of course honestly." She jumped off of her stool and went to one of the corners before whispering into the receiver.

"I miss you. A lot. And I'm sorry I didn't call, I was being stupid and just…" The words were failing her. The door to the recording area opened and Jude turned to see Kwest standing there back from his phone call. Jude closed her eyes and nodded expectantly. Of course he would interrupt. "Yeah, I um, have to get back to recording. But-"

"No, I understand. It was good to hear you. Don't be a stranger, okay?" He sounded so resigned over the phone, he was letting her call all the shots again. He should stop that.

"I'll try." She flipped her phone shut and leaned her head against the padded wall while giving a sigh of frustration.

"Sorry to interrupt, you can call hi-I mean, them back if you want. I can wait" Kwest was failing miserably at being aloof from the situation.

"Umm, no. I'm ready, let's do this." Jude walked back over to the center of the room, pretending to be confident as ever and pulled the headphones on over her ears. The music flooded her own little world and she opened her mouth to start one of the latest songs she had written.

_Three little birds, sat on my window.  
And they told me I don't need to worry.  
Summer came like cinnamon  
So sweet,  
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete._

_Maybe sometimes, we got it wrong, but it's alright   
And nothing seems to change, and it all will stay the same.  
Oh, don't you hesitate._

Once she started the next line, Portia came bursting into the room with an armful of clothing. Her and Kwest got into a minor squabble before he turned to her and told her they were done for the night. Portia always won. With a sigh Jude left the booth to try on some clothes for a few appearances she would be attending coming up within the next few days.

"Here. I want to see each one" Portia thrust the daunting pile into Jude's arms and pushed her into a small spare room.

The next hour was full of poking and prodding. Jude hated wardrobe fittings with Portia, especially at random hours when she just wanted to get back to her apartment and maybe even call Tom back.

She didn't even leave the studio until midnight. Getting into her modest car, she kept the windows down to enjoy the cool night on her ride back to the apartment. She hated herself for continually second guessing everything she did or didn't do in their not so relational relationship.

After the short drive to her apartment, she let herself in and threw her bag on the couch. Jude was contemplating calling him again, but it was nearly midnight. Settling on sending a text message she typed out 'are you still awake?' and within a minute her phone was ringing. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't gleeful.

"Hello?"

"I'm always awake for you."

"Well apparently Cora isn't around."

She practically felt his embarrassment through the phone. "You know what I meant."

"Yeah, I just happened to also get your innuendo. Or wait, what's the word that I'm looking for if that means 'playful banter?'"

Tom chuckled from his end. "So, how are you?"

Jude thought about her answer for a second. "I'm holding it together."

"That's good, together is usually preferred."

"Especially since everyone expects something different from me, and Portia is poking me with straight pins for alterations, and Darius is so excited with my new recording attitude that he never wants me to stop, and I just…need another vacation."

"Somehow I don't think you'll get that time after you just took two weeks off. But I wish you could. I guess we'll just have to see what happens?"

"I guess so…" Jude collapsed onto her bed. She was exhausted now that she finally had a chance to process it all. With a yawn, she asked how Cora was doing.

"She's good, misses you if that means anything."

"Aww, I miss her too." Jude's eyes were fluttering precariously as she drifted in and out of consciousness before she fell asleep with the phone to her ear.

"Yeah, she asks about you a lot, she wants to see you again." Silence from her end. "Jude?" Still nothing. "Okay… Night Jude. I lo-I'll talk to you later."

A thousand miles away, Tom closed his phone and set it down.

"You should have just said it." Tom jumped at the voice.

"For the love of God Sandra, don't do that to me again. And don't listen to my conversations."

"Then stop being such un cobarde and get your act together again. You were doing so well and then she leaves and you're pathetic again. What am I going to do with you?"

"I don't have to take this."

"You were never one for the truth." Tom stood up from the chair he was occupying annoyed and started to leave. "It leaves such a bitter taste in your mouth!" Sandra fiercely whispered as he retreated back to his room in the dark. Sandra poured herself the glass of water she wanted before shuffling back to her own room in the house. The perks of being a live in nanny. She knew everything that happened in this house. Everything.


	20. Chapter 20

Jude was having a hard time focusing in on Darius as he went on and on about the importance of promotion and being in the spotlight. He was taking full advantage of Jude's new studio enthusiasm to bring her back under the lime light fulltime. Her eyes continually glazed over as she propped herself up with her head in her hand. Mason kept poking her under the table and she would jolt back to life each time.

"Is there a problem, Jude?" Darius had a serious over enunciation issue sometimes.

"No…no problem, thanks for caring though, D." Her night had been restless and she spent it tossing and turning dreaming of him and Miami. Darius turned back to address everyone around the conference table.

"So with Jude's new studio vigor, Portia, I need you to start calling around, I want her on every show she isn't on yet, and bring her back to some of the old ones she's done over the past two years. We're going to milk this dry. And Jude, I need to get the final mix of your new song. So get working with Kwest on that."

Shows…travel…she got it. The wheels were clearly in motion as Mason observed her now fully awake. "Darius, what if I did some traveling, maybe go down into the states, hit up TRL in New York, maybe do some shows out in LA, maybe even Miami?"

"Exposure, good call. But Miami? What's there?"

"Umm…my Latin constituency?" She flashed him her perfect smile in hopes to persuade him.

"Keep doing what you're doing and stop trying to channel Shakira. We'll see what we can do though, right?" He raised an eyebrow to his sister who just nodded, scribbling notes to herself on a yellow legal pad.

The meeting was adjourned and people went back to their daily posts to complete whatever laundry list of tasks Darius or Liam had assigned them. Jude and Mason exited together and he stared at her the entire time, hoping for some sort of explanation. Once she felt that his eyes weren't leaving her she just looked over at him, "What?" And shrugged off her behavior during the meeting.

"Nope, sorry missy. That isn't going to fly. So tell me, what's in Miami?"

"Nothing, maybe an old friend."

"An old…ooohhh." His eyebrows raised as the pieces fell into place together. "Yeah, an old _friend_."

She hit him square on the chest. "Shut up it wasn't like…okay, it was _almost_ like that."

"You know, you never told me while you two were dating all those years ago," Mason began in all seriousness, his face solemn, "How's his body?"

Jude laughed and shook her head. "You don't have a chance in hell."

He just shrugged and smiled, "A boy can dream though."

"Yeah, yeah. Well stop distracting me. I need to go sing a beautiful song about a boy who's simply electric."

"Wait, you have to answer my question."

"Umm…I don't have to do anything, sorry cowboy."

"Aw, come on!" Jude left him standing in the middle of the center floor while she did a little dance towards the studio she and Kwest were working in. Walking in, she didn't stop her dance and she tossed a CD to Kwest who just barely caught it.

"Why the fire in your pants?"

"Eh, nothing. I'm just in a good mood now. Ready to get to work."

"Always…what's this?"

"Oh, just a little diddy I recorded."

"But I've helped you record everything you have."

"Just listen to it and help me figure out where to go from there."

"Yes ma'am." Kwest put in the CD and Jude's voice flooded the room. She sat perched on the table the soundboard was on, singing along with the song while Kwest was listening to this for the first time. "Did you…?"

"A magician never reveals her secrets. So, where do we go from there? Full set, Acoustic? We could always go Nsync and release it a capella." She chuckled to herself at the thought of attempting a five part harmony by herself.

"Acoustic. Definitely, did you have anything in mind for music?"

"I had an idea."

"Great, let's hear it."

For the next hour, they hashed out the music and were making serious progress. After a few hours of recording and leveling the mixing, they were done and were able to call it an early night.

Jude left the studio around 9 and took her time getting back to her apartment. Once she pulled into her usual spot, she killed the ignition and just sat there for a little bit. Her phone was in her hand and she flipped it open and closed for several minutes debating on calling Tommy again tonight. She felt bad for falling asleep on him last night, but at the same time, she loved that she fell asleep to his voice.

Finally summoning the courage to call again, she scrolled to his name and without hesitation this time pressed the call button.

It rang. And rang. And rang. Once the voicemail picked up, her brow furrowed in disappointment. With the beep, she began her message, "Hey Tommy, I just wanted to call and apologize for falling asleep last night, it had been a really long day and I just crashed once I laid down. Umm…yeah, oh! I wanted to let you know that I might be back in Miami for a few days doing some TV things. Hopefully it'll all pan out. I'll make sure to let you know. So…I guess I'll talk to you later. Bye."

She flipped her phone closed and got out of her car. She couldn't remember the last time she had to leave Tom Quincy a voicemail but she didn't particularly like not having a direct line to him at the moment. Climbing the stairs to her abode, she contemplated her behavior once she would be able to see him again. What she would and wouldn't do…and all the ways it could be done. She closed the door behind her, falling against it laughing at how perverted she really was with all the thoughts and ideas running through her head. 'Who knew I could be so…creative.' At the very least, she wasn't about to give up at the moment. But who knows, everything could change at the drop of a hat with her life seemingly written in sand.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: The song used isn't mine, it's Always by Saliva...and you know, any obvious steals from IS are just that...stealing from them, but I acknowledge it. It's totally their material.**

Tom floated out of his room to meet Cora and Sandra with is phone attached to his hear listening to her voicemail, a smile on his face.

"Well good morning, bright eyes. Why so chipper today?"

"Ah, nothing in particular," he grabbed her and danced around the kitchen, dipping her before he brought her upright again so she could continue making breakfast for Cora. Sandra couldn't help but laugh, and Cora just giggled seeing her father so happy.

"Okay, no really. What's got you all smile and grins?" Sandra smoothed down her clothing before getting back to breakfast.

Tom gave her a knowing grin that caused Sandra to nod her head knowingly 'ah…right. Cora, honey, why don't you finished getting ready to leave while I finish cooking your breakfast.' Cora gave a small shrug and slid off the barstool to go back to her room.

"And now that she's gone…."

"She might be coming back to visit." His eyes shone with excitement and hope.

"And how is said rock star going to do that?"

He pulled out his usual mug and poured himself coffee, he took a sip of the strong black liquid before answering her "TV interviews and since those don't take a whole lot of time…"

"I see the wheels turning. But next time, regardless of what does or doesn't happen...please be quieter. I'm a light sleeper." She saw a blush rise into his cheeks as he quickly ducked out of the kitchen. 'Another point for Sandra…that brings me up to somewhere near a million, and about…three for Tom.' A smug look crossed her face as she finished preparing Cora's breakfast, calling her back to begin the day.

* * *

Jude strode into G Major feeling confident and in control today. Something gave her the extra confidence and strength, possibly knowing that she was the reason behind being about to go and see Tommy again. She bit her lower lip to try and keep her grinning like a fool look toned down a bit.

With her guitar at her side, she was ready to kick some serious studio time ass with Kwest today. She greeted the new receptionist, and said her good mornings to everyone as she passed determined not to stop and get to work as soon as possible. Kwest was in the kitchenette looking for food as usual. "Hey, hurry up in there, I was prolific last night!"

"Where's the fire?"

"Deep inside…or something like that, come on, let's go!" Not paying attention to five feet ahead of her, she collided with Portia who was holding a clipboard of information and Jude's promotional tour itinerary.

"Don't kill the messenger, please." She emphasized the last word, giving Jude a packet of papers stapled together. "Learn it, memorize it, don't lose it and love it."

"Of course, thanks so much Portia." She pulled the woman into a great big hug before continuing on her mission to studio B. She walked into the recording booth and set down her guitar case. Grabbing her notebook from a side pocket, she sat down on the stool with the itinerary and songs. The notebook was set down on a music stand before her and she started to thumb through the list of stops she would be making and what would be going on at each. It was a pretty standard list, TRL to talk about her new music video and album she was working on, Regis and Kelly because Regis loved her the last time she was there, though she couldn't say the same about Kelly….There were several other appearances she would be making along with a couple of radio station interviews and CD signings. She looked perplexed and started flipping through the list again more critically this time. There was Montreal, Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles….That was it.

Leaving the studio she went into the building's lobby and spotted Portia talking to the receptionist going over some invoices, disregarding common courtesy she walked right up to them and cut their conversation short. "Um…Portia?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Is there anything…missing from this?" She waved the papers in the air.

"No, that's it." Portia looked both confused and annoyed at the implication that she had messed up doing her job.

"Nothing's missing?"

"I know what you're thinking, but Jude, there's nothing worthwhile down there. All the important places are going to be hit and then we need to get you back here to keep working. No time for vacations."

Jude pressed her lips together. "Right. I LOVE that your brother pulls all the strings here like we're his damn puppets." She turned on her heel frustrated and annoyed with everything G Major and musical politics at the moment. Jude stormed back into the studio, slamming the door behind her causing Kwest to jump.

"Whoa, why did Jude's evil twin decide to come out and play?"

"They're trying to keep me away from him! It's a damn conspiracy!"

"What? Slow down and start from the beginning."

"Miami, they're not letting me to go to Miami."

"Ah…well it shouldn't matter because it's not like you have anyone waiting for you there." He casually shrugged his shoulders trying to get under her skin and maybe finally get her to admit what was going on between his two friends.

"Don't start with me, Kwest."

"I'm just saying…"

"Less talking, and more pushing record when I tell you too."

Disregarding her acoustic, she picked up one of the electric's that was on a stand in the room. She threw the strap around her body and plugged the amp in. With the guitar harnessed to her body, she began to look for a specific song, one that she had written several years ago but with all the anger and resentment towards the musical corporate hell she had to deal with, the emotion and timing was right.

She nodded at Kwest, who looked perplexed considering they hadn't discussed anything to actually work on today.

The intro started out slow, a quiet melody to back her vocals.

_I hear, a voice say Don't be so blind  
It's telling me all these things, that you would probably hide  
Am I, your one and only desire  
Am I the reason you breathe, or am I the reason you cry_

_Always... always... always... always... always... always..._

_I just can't live without you  
_  
With the last two lines, her voice grew stronger and more powerful until she reached power chords and the cutting lyrics._I love you, I hate you, I can't get around you  
_

_I breathe you, I taste you, I can't live without you_

_I just can't take anymore, this life of solitude  
I guess that I'm out the door and now I'm done with you  
Done with you, done with you, done with you, done with you, done with you_

Jude was in her own little world. Pouring out all the frustration, aggression, hurt, anger, and passion she had kept bottled up and locked away. Kwest was a little shocked at this display of a hardcore rocker. Jude had never been bubblegum, but this was something in a league all its own.

_I feel, like you don't want me around  
I guess I'll pack all my things, I guess I'll see you around  
It's all been bottled up until now  
As I walk out your door, all I can hear is the sound of_

_Always... always... always... always... always... always..._

_I just can't live without you  
I love you, I hate you, I can't get around you  
I breathe you, I taste you, I can't live without you  
I just can't take anymore, this life of solitude_

_I guess that I'm out the door and now I'm done with you  
I love you, I hate you, I can't live without you  
I wrapped my head around your heart  
Why would you tear my world apart?_

_Always... always... always... always..._

The gut wrenching lyrics continued, and Kwest didn't have to do anything but sit back and listen to her pour her heart out, sticking it to anyone and everyone that had ever done wrong by her.

_I see, the blood all over your hands  
Does it make you feel, more like a man?  
Was it all, just a part of your plan  
The pistol's shaking in my hands and all I hear is the sound_

_I love you, I hate you, I can't get around you  
breathe you, I taste you, I can't live without you  
I just can't take anymore, this life of solitude  
I guess that I'm out the door and now I'm done with you_

_I love you, I hate you, I can't live without you  
I love you, I hate you, I can't live without you  
I just can't take anymore, this life of solitude  
I pick myself off the floor and now I'm done with you_

_Always... always... always..._

As the residual sound of the guitar faded away, Kwest stopped recording before he pressed the speaker button "Feel better?" he looked at her apprehensively.

With a great sigh she nodded slowly, "Yeah…" She felt a little exhausted and spent with the huge emotional output, but the wheels were still spinning in her head. She felt better but it didn't help solve her problem until it hit her. "Hey Kwest?"

He looked up from the soundboard, "Yeah?"

"Can I borrow your phone real quick?"

He looked confused, "Umm…sure, but what's wrong with yo-"

She set down the electric before running out of the recording booth, "Thanks, you're a doll!" She grabbed it and ran out of the studio, already scrolling through his phonebook.


	22. Chapter 22

"Okay, so I need you to take care of the airline stuff for me please, Sadie, I would do it myself, but if it's not done right now, I might explode."

"Okay, okay…but are you sure he's going to be okay with that? I mean, it would interfere with studio time."

"Well, it shouldn't be so bad. He wants me to stay inspired right? Why not be close to my inspiration." Sadie heard her smile through the phone.

"Right, well as long as bags are packed and no one is going to get fired, then I'm all for it. I want my little sis to be happy, you know that."

"Ah, Sade, you're the best. But I have to go. I'll talk to you later." With that phone call, Jude had finished making her arrangements. She crossed her fingers and said a little prayer to the gods of music and muses that nothing would go wrong with her plan.

A week and a half of traveling flew by with anticipation of eventually being face to face with him again. He of course had no idea that that would be happening though. Jude had to admit however, he took the news relatively well that she would not be able to visit…well, he took it well enough for Tommy.

_Ring. Ring. Ring. Halfway though the fourth ring, Tommy picked up._

"_So you're going to tell me to start counting down the days until I see you again."_

"_Um…" Jude's voice was full of apprehension and nervousness. _

"_Umm what? Please tell me you're flipping through your day planner to figure it out."_

"_Something like that? Tommy, I did everything I could, but Portia and Darius…there's nothing worth while down there, so it wasn't scheduled."_

"_Nothing worth while?" His voice was raised with anger._

"_Don't twist my words. Nothing worth while to them, and you know I meant that." Jude raised her voice to match his._

He was completely in the dark and upset that she wasn't going to be able to visit while on her little promotional tour. That would make everything twice as fantastic when he got to see her again.

Two weeks later the promotional tour had wrapped up a few days earlier and she was happily back at home, resting on her couch flipping through the channels. TRL had been a huge success with the premiere of her newest video, and she charmed her way in and out of interviews on each show. People loved her, they loved her story of tragic heartbreak, and they loved her maturity that she gained at such a young age.

She stared blankly at the TV, something she didn't get to do often with the studio hours she typically logged each week. Ever since she had graduated two years ago, she spent more than 40 hours a week working on her music in the studio. Sometimes just writing, going over music, recording tracks, her activities ran the gamut. The only common thread they shared were they took place inside the glass box she noted as her second home. An environment she could control most of the time.

She languished in the time she had to herself right now because tomorrow was going to be a long day, she felt it already. Jude had picked the life of the extraordinary. Nothing she did or was a part of never ended up normal.

* * *

"Sandra, I'm missing a shirt, do you have any idea where it is?" Tom came out into the living room shirtless; looking around in hopes that it would magically reappear.

"Telling me you're missing a shirt is like telling me Paris Hilton lost a pair of shoes…you're going to have to be more specific."

"It was a button down?"

"Yeah, and keep going."

"Nevermind, I'll just wear something else."

"Good idea, it's probably packed anyways."

"Packed away?" Sandra gave him a charming smile. "Didn't I tell you?" She tapped the side of her head, feigning to remember something.

"Sandra. Now." Tom hated nothing more than to be left out of the loop and in the dark about anything that involved him.

"Oh, it's nothing really. I just happened to call in to work for you since you'll be out of the state with Cora for a week or so. I mean, I can always extend it. No big deal. I can't believe that slipped my mind."

"Sandra. Where are we going?" He had a vague idea, but never in his wildest dreams did he think she would try and pull something like this off without asking or even mentioning it to him.

"Yeah, so you know. Get another shirt, drink some coffee. I made it extra strong today because of the headache I just caused," She waved a steamy mug in front of her with a smile of innocence. "And you know, get to the airport. Oh, and your tickets are here on the table" She tapped the bar in front of her after setting down his coffee.

Tom just stood there flabbergasted at the ploy she had just managed to pull off. "I can't believe…."

"No time for your gratuitous 'I love you's' or 'Sandra you're so amazing and deserve a raise' you can thank me when you come back." She left the kitchen and walked into the living room, pushing him back towards his room. "And you need to leave in like, 15 minutes." She smiled and skipped off to Cora's room to make sure the little girl was almost ready.

Tom ran around his bedroom frantically pulling things together at the last minute as he got ready to leave for his undisclosed location. He had an idea…a hope, but didn't want to jinx it. He went out into the kitchen now fully dressed and ready to go. He grabbed his coffee and downed the scorching liquid in record time and moved towards the envelope. He played with the idea of opening it, but at the same time didn't want to be let down. Folding it in half, he tucked it away into his back pocket. He'd find out soon enough.

Cora was happily sitting in the car with a backpack full of toys and different means of entertainment for their flight and Tom was loading the two suitcases into the back of the SUV. Sandra came out to bid them farewell, she gave Cora a hug and told her to behave while they were gone. With the passenger door closed she made her way to the rear of the car while Tom was closing the back.

"I know you're not one for surprises…but trust me."

His blue eyes searched her brown ones, looking for any sort of giveaway. He took a deep breath and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you" He whispered into her ear. "But remember," He pulled back and held her at arms length. "I still reserve the right to kill you when I get back."

"Hey now!" she laughed, "I wasn't alone on this one. Not even the mastermind behind it all, so behave and go play nice." She gave him a playful kick to his rear to get him to leave. He hopped into the drivers seat and roared the car to life. She waved to them as they pulled out of the driveway and down the street.

With them completely out of sight, she reached for her cell phone in her back pocket. She found the number she was searching for and pressed the send button. After the first ring, it was picked up "Hello?"

"I've never had someone answer a phone so quickly, anxious much?"

"Hah…not at all, if you only knew my life and the fact that nothing ever went the way I wanted, you'd understand."

"Well never fear, the eagle is in the air. Hah, I've always wanted to pretend to be in the CIA or secret service."

"Har har…you should stick to your day job."

"That hurts, it hurts a lot. Anyway- they should be there around three, so while you anticipate their arrival, I'm going to get a pedicure and do jack for the next week."

"Oh, you'll be doing Jack?" her voice hinted at something more than Sandra stated.

"I wish I knew a Jack."

"Well high time for you go to find one for yourself, but hey, duty calls so I'll talk to you later."

"Enjoy your week." With that, she flipped closed her phone and made her way back into the quiet and empty house. An entire week with no responsibilities. She might just go crazy by the end.


	23. Chapter 23

"So I know it might be a long shot, but can we get through a single take without you looking at your watch? You might just make time stop if you look at it anymore."

Jude's head snapped up when Kwest came over the speaker, "Sorry, I don't mean to be looking at it so much." Kwest just shrugged, "Ready to try it again? Without all the time checks?"

"Yeah, I can try." Jude was completely distracted and gone, her mind anywhere but in the booth with her. It was already four and he was an hour late. She knew he would come to the studio, where else could he possibly go? The apartment was sold, all of Tom's old friends would be here at work…but where was he?

* * *

After sitting in the airport terminal for 2 hours, he shouldn't have been in such a rush to get out the door this morning. The flight was delayed because someone had gotten a little queasy earlier and lost their meal…all over the carpeted plane floor.

He stood in front of the arrival and departure board willing his and Cora's flight status to change. After a minute of staring at it, he made his way back to Cora so he could keep an eye on her. She sat rather contentedly on the trampled and worn airport carpet with her coloring book and crayons neatly in the box next to her. Noticing Tom was back she looked up and smiled at him before turning back to her latest creation.

Without looking back up, she grabbed a new crayon and began coloring the skirt of the dress on this particular princess, "Daddy?"

"Hmm?" He watched her as she intently colored, making sure not to go over the lines.

"Has Jude always been blonde?"

"No, not always…" Tom was perplexed by the question, it seemed to come out of no where.

"Really?" Cora looked up, intrigued and interested in this now.

"She had red hair a long, long time ago." Tom looked off, his eyes hazing over seeming to remember the first time they met as she berated and bashed him while he stood on the second floor hearing every word she said. When he snapped out of it, Cora was diligently working on the Princess's hair, coloring it in with a fire engine red crayon.

Once their plane was finally called for boarding, Tom helped Cora put all of her possessions back into her backpack and then hand in hand, they board they plane with most of Tom's apprehensions temporarily cast aside.

Despite the delay, the flight was smooth and Cora napped for most of it. Leaving Tom to stare out the window and think about the next week and pondering what would actually transpire and how it probably wasn't what he wanted or hoped. He really couldn't ask for a whole lot more, he just wanted to see her again and try to rebuild and continue whatever they had. Long distance wasn't ideal, but if he had to, he was willing to make it work.

* * *

"Okay, so obviously we can't."

Jude looked up from her song book and guitar, "Can't what?"

"You looked at your watch again." Jude wrinkled her nose.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to it's just-" Did she really want to tell him? There was always the chance that Sadie didn't mention it to him.

"I know, don't worry." Right. Of course Sadie couldn't keep her mouth shut. "So when is he supposed to get in?"

"He WAS supposed to get in at three. He's two hours late. What if he didn't go. Ughh. This was a bad idea." Jude started to ramble about all the things that could have gone wrong form the time she called Sandra two weeks ago to now. Sandra could have not told Tom, or he could have gotten into an accident on the way to the airport, or maybe his plane crashed. Jude's head snapped up to look at Kwest again, "There haven't been any reported plane crashes, have there?" her eyes wide with panic.

Kwest just laughed at the girl before him. "No, and I'm sure everything's fine. But just to be safe- if he didn't come up here, don't take it personally, okay? He's a control freak and the fact that you orchestrated all of this without his knowledge until earlier this morning…might not have gone over to well."

"I know, I know…I just…wanted to surprise him? Does that sound weird?" She sat there on the stool and hugged the acoustic in her lap.

"Nah, we like to do things that are special or unexpected for those we love." The stress on the last words didn't pass Jude and she gave him a pointed look, he obviously crossed the line with that.

" Alright, alright, I surrender. All I'm saying is you're not getting anything productive done, you keep staring at your watch, checking to see if your cell phone has signal and battery…I'm kicking you out for the night."

"But- what? No. I can't leave, what if he does show up?"

"I'll give him directions to your apartment. Now go, you're done here." Kwest normally wasn't so pushy, but he wasn't about to back down from this. She was going crazy sitting in her tiny glass box. "Alright, alright." She conceded to him and started to pack up her guitar and stuffed her notebook in the side pocket. She hoisted the instrument over her shoulder, holding onto the strap of the case and left the studio disappointed. _He didn't show up._

"Girl can't admit when she's gone…always in denial.." Kwest was muttering to himself as he rolled around the soundboard and equipment getting some more work done and keeping his promise to Jude of staying a bit longer in case Tom did show up.

* * *

"Sadie, you were never good at giving directions. I'm on Copeland, the street that intersects is Landis. Do I turn left, or right?" His frustrations were growing by the second; he just wanted to find her apartment, was that really too much to ask for?

"Well maybe if the top wasn't down in whatever car you rented, I could actually understand you and give directions!"

"Okay, okay." The car rolled to a stop with the red light in front of him. "I'm stopped. I'm on Copeland intersecting with Landis. Where do I go?"

"If you had only said that before…" Tom had to bite his tongue to not say anything stupid and have her hang up on him. He memorized the directions to the apartment and navigated the streets with ease as if it were only yesterday that he rode up and down them in his own viper. How time flew by.

Finally reaching his destination, he pulled into an available parking spot, tucked in between two rather large SUV's. Something he would have never done with his own precious car. But what did it matter, this one wasn't his. Leaving the suitcases in the car, he and Cora made their way up to the fourth floor and walked down the hallway "403…405, ah! 407." Maybe he would get lucky, he jiggled the handle, but no. She was a good responsible person who locked her doors unlike most Canadians who believed it was safe to keep the doors unlocked. Living in Miami had tainted his thought process. He rapped his knuckles on the door and waited. No answer.

'Okay, if I were to hide a spare key…where would I put it?' Surveying the small area in front of her door he observed a welcome mat and nothing more. 'Of course' He raised his arm and ran his fingers against the dusty door frame at the top of the door until he felt a thin metal object. 'Bingo.' Smiling to himself he slipped the key into the lock and turned it until the door clicked and was now open to him.

The two walked inside and Tommy took in his surroundings. It was nice, but pretty minimalist for a girl with several records that did well. The furniture was all nice though, very streamlined and clean looking. Nothing stuffy or grandma-ish about this place. It was definitely Jude's style.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." Cora tugged at Tom's hand trying to get his attention back from studying the apartment. "Sit down, and I'll see if I can find anything."

Tom made his way to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. He had never seen anything so sparse. There were a couple of apples, half a diet coke, but at least there was half a gallon of milk…or wait. No, it expired three weeks ago.

He went through a couple of cabinets and found nothing more than a box of saltines, a jar of peanut butter, and some Captain Crunch cereal.

"How do you feel about Chinese for dinner, Cora?"

"Yum!"

"Okay, sounds like a plan." He looked at the different flyers on the fridge and found one for Chinese that looked promising. He picked out his order from the menu before calling and placing an order. The food would be arriving within half an hour. With nothing more to do than wait, Tom had the urge to wander and sneak around a bit but he suppressed the desire to do so. He walked around the general living room area instead, looking at pictures in frames on the entertainment center, reading the framed albums that had all been very successful, pulled a couple of books off the shelf, anything to keep him busy. Thumbing through 'The Complete Guide to Becoming a Rockstar', he heard a crash against the door. Assuming it was the delivery guy with the food he tucked the book under his arm and went to answer the door. Opening it, he was face to face with Jude who looked a little overwhelmed at the moment with her guitar over her shoulder a couple of paper bags full of what looked to be groceries.

Her eyes widened once she finally looked up from the purse she was rooting around in, looking for a key. "Oh my God, you're not supposed to be in my apartment"

Tom just smirked at her, "Yeah, and you're not the Chinese I ordered."


	24. Chapter 24

Looking positively shell shocked and wide eyed, she stood there speechless. Tom Quincy…my apartment, 'Oh god, I wonder if he found…no, no, he wouldn't go rooting through my stuff.' A blush crept up her cheeks regardless.

"Let me take these." He scooped up the paper bags from her arms and carried them into her small kitchenette, he looked over his shoulder and noticed her still at the threshold of her home. "You can come inside, you know."

"But you…how?" Her face was contorted by confusion with her eyebrows knitted together. She finally slowly made her way into the living room, dropping her stuff by the couch that Cora was sitting on. "Hi Jude!" Cora bounced from her seat overflowing with excitement.

Jude snapped out of her daze and genuinely smiled at Cora, she had missed her bright smiling face only days after she had been back in Canada. "Hey there hun." She leaned over the arm of the couch and gave her a hug. 'Hun, God, I need to get a grip.'

"So Thomas Copperfield, how'd you manage it?" Jude leaned against the bar countertop, cupping her face in her hands as she watched him putting all the groceries away without question.

"You don't have a lot of hiding options, it's an apartment door, not the front of Parliament."

"Okay, true..true. But why the apartment? And how did you find it? I figured you would go to the studio."

"Our plane was late, and Sadie."

"So I noticed."

"Let me finish, okay?" He chuckled at her barrage of questions.

"So our plane was late because someone got a little sick on the flight before," Jude wrinkled her nose in distaste. She was a bit of a sympathy vomiter herself and couldn't deal much with it herself. That was supposed to go away with kids, or so she had been told. "And so that delayed our flight, and then getting my beautiful rental was a pain,"

"I knew I saw a viper in the parking lot." Tommy laughed at her while opening the fridge and putting in fresh milk, setting the old carton on the counter with a face of distaste "That?" He pointed to the old milk, "Is disgusting."

"I know, I know, but I've been so busy at the studio…I hardly eat my own food anymore."

"I noticed. So past your interrogation, do I get a hello?" He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a countertop opposite of Jude. A smile crept over her face as she looked him up and down. He was still so attractive, and his mannerisms...yeah, Tom Quincy still had it. She walked over and embraced him. It was comfortable and safe in his arms. The warmth made her wish that she could hold on forever, ignoring whatever the rest of the world wanted to throw at her day after day. They stood there too long, and finally Jude pulled away slightly embarrassed. She was supposed to be strong now.

The Chinese had finally arrived and the three of them sat around Jude's table talking and joking around like they were still in Miami and nothing had changed. Jude pulled out a movie from her collection and put it in for Cora while she went to clean up the table and kitchen.

Tom followed her into the kitchen with the containers of food, "Little Mermaid, eh?"

"She made me dye my hair red."

"Jude the mermaid…interesting." The containers were set down and he walked over to her, leaning against her as she was rinsing dishes off in the sink."Tommy!" she whispered fiercely at him, "She's right…there." Her resolve was quickly fading. "She loves this movie.." He murmured and trailed off nuzzling her neck.

"No, not here." She swatted him again. He pretended to be hurt, but continued to help until they were done cleaning.

Tom went over to check on Cora, and found her curled up on the couch peacefully sleeping while Ariel and Prince Eric were in a row boat on the screen. He grabbed the remote and clicked off the TV.

"She's kind of like clock work. Put in a movie at night, and she's out halfway through." Tom smiled down at his daughter, "Yeah, pretty much." He looked back up at Jude with the same love and affection in his eyes. "We should probably get going, I need to get to the hotel and-"

"No. Stay. I have a spare room, you and Cora can stay there. I was the one who got you up here after all." Tom raised an eyebrow at her, "Are you sure?"

"Positive." She sunk her hands into her pockets and rocked back on her heels, she said positive, but wasn't how sure she felt about her answer. "Let me show you to the room."

Tom knelt down in front of Cora whispering her name to jar her just enough so he could bring her to the room. "Corazon, let's get you to bed." She made a few groggy noises of protest, but he scooped her up into his arms and she latched her small hands behind his neck and tried to snuggle closer to her dad as Jude led them to the spare room.

The room was a relatively cheerful room; the walls were white except for the one behind the headboard of the bed which was a bright teal. The linens were white and black, the duvet an abstract pattern of black and white with the random application of teal that matched the wall.

She watched as he pulled back the covers and laid her drowsy body down on the bed. He took off her shoes and pulled the covers back up over her body. Leaning in he brushed her hair away and kissed her forehead. Jude swore she heard the faint whisperings of 'I'm trying, mi corazon.'

When he stood and turned towards the door he noticed Jude leaning against the frame watching him and his daughter. He thought of Sandra and her words "…_passed up the opportunity of sharing this part of your life with her.' _ He reached out for her hand and tipped his head to the side, motioning for her to follow him as he closed the door softly behind them.

"There, now we can talk." He led her to the couch and they both sat down, she sat cross legged, facing him. She was notably nervous as she fidgeted with the hem of her frayed jeans. Pulling at the long fibers and avoiding his eyes.

"You don't have to be afraid….I don't bite anymore. Sandra broke me from the habit."

Jude looked up and met his sparkling eyes, a small smile on her face.

"Come on Jude, you can talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders, honestly conflicted.

"No, really…you can talk to me."

"I know…but it's just…everything is so different. I see you with Cora, and you're wonderful with her, you really are. But you aren't Tommy anymore, most definitely not 'lil Tommy Q', but you're Tom Quincy, father and white collar professional."

"I'm more like the Tommy you knew than you think." He looked at her seriously.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's not a bad thing, I just … after the movie at your house, the last night I was there, that was Tommy. The Tommy I remember. And then when you're with Cora and Sandra, and just…in Miami in general, you're Tom." She laughed incredulously to herself. "You must think I'm crazy, trying to distinguish between Tommy and Tom."

"No, of course not. I'd never think you were crazy for something like that." He continued to watch her as she maintained her averted gaze. "Everyone that you see, or think that I am….I am. I'm still your Tommy, and I am Tom, and I can be Thomas, or Quincy…anything and everything."

"That's part of what scares me too." She finally stopped fiddling with her jeans. "I don't know if I want to get involved with all of that, or if I want to just have Tommy, or Tom, or…whatever." She let out a sigh and shook her head. "I don't know, I just don't know."

"Hey…" He started out softly and reached for her hands, they were ice cold against his own. "No one is asking you to decide anything. I miss you, I won't deny that, and I'm ecstatic to be here. Really, thank you for that. I probably would have never done it on my own. But you don't have to make any decisions right this second." A tear threatened to spill over her lids, and she attempted to blink it away but failed miserably. He watched it slide down her porcelain skin before brushing it away with his thumb. "Shhh, don't cry. You don't mean it. You're probably just tired, long day at the studio?"

She just nodded, sniffling a little. "And then I didn't show up while you were there?"

She nodded again. "You should go to bed. We're both tired. If anything, we can talk tomorrow, okay?" She just nodded again. He stood up, and helped her up, drawing her close to his body as they walked towards their respective rooms. Before Jude disappeared into her room, he pulled her close to him in a hug. They just stood there as he comforted her, with no hidden agendas or secret intentions. He was treating her as he would Cora, and Jude was okay with that. Right now, that's all she needed or wanted.

When her door closed to the rest of the apartment, she laid down on her large empty bed more confused than ever. She wanted to be with him, but he was so much more now than he had been three years ago. Jude drifted off to sleep contemplating how deep she was willing to let herself get.


	25. Chapter 25

Despite her exhaustion from the night before, Jude was the first one up the following morning. Sun spilled in through the gauzy curtains that were never closed during the previous night. She never even managed to change out of her clothes either. Stumbling into the adjacent bathroom, she washed her face and brushed her teeth before peeling off her clothes and changing into a pair of flimsy pajama bottoms and a small white tank.

She soundlessly opened her room door and pad footed it down the hallway and poked her head in the now open guest room. Tom was still asleep hugging a pillow against his body and Cora was laying on her back, but wide awake as she was playing the game with her fingertips, bringing them together in different patterns.

"psst" Jude tried to get her attention but wasn't loud enough.

"Psst…" she tried again, louder though. Cora stopped playing her little game and looked at Jude finally noticing her. Cora smiled and gave a small wave. Jude motioned for the young girl to follow her. Cora slowly slid out of the bed and Tommy shifted some and pulled the pillow closer to his body, his muscles rippling under his skin.

The two girls left him to sleep behind the closed door and made their way to the small kitchen. Both of them in their pajamas and mussed hair, they were quite the sight. "Want to help me make breakfast?" Cora gave her a wide smile and nodded enthusiastically. "Miss Sandra always cooks for me, but I want to help sometimes." She stated in a matter-of-fact way.

"Well, I need all the help I can get. But first and foremost- you always need to cook to music." Jude walked over to her stereo and thumbed through her CD collection until she found what she was looking for. She popped the CD out of the jewel case and put it in the player. Cool, relaxed guitar playing came over the speakers along with laid back vocals. Jack Johnson filled the living space as he sung about making banana pancakes and pretending it was the weekend.

Jude and Cora danced around while they put all of the items they needed for breakfast on the counter. Pancake mix, eggs, bacon, along with a mixing bowl and a pan on the stove. Jude went and pulled out a stool from a storage closet so Cora could work on mixing the pancake batter while Jude took care of the eggs and such.

While waiting for the pan to heat up to cook the eggs, Jude put on a pot of coffee- the easiest way to wake Tom up without leaving the kitchen. The aroma of the coffee accompanied by the cooking breakfast finally reached his sleeping form and roused him from the dreams he was surrounded in. He yawned and stretched before he got out of the bed and threw on a t-shirt before leaving the room. The music and giggling from the kitchen covered up any noise from walking on the hardwood floors.

They had their backs turned to him, dancing to the music and cooking side by side. A smile crept on his lips as he watched them together, laughing, playing and having fun. It was perfect, and it felt right. This was exactly what he wanted for the rest of his life.

He watched them a little bit longer before clearing his throat to get the duo's attention. "Ahem." Cora stopped mixing the pancake batter and leapt off the stool to give her father a hug. "Morning Daddy!"

"Morning my love, aren't you quite the sight." He laughed and wiped off powdered pancake mix off of her nose before letting her go back to helping with Jude. "Jude let's me help with breakfast." She said, taking a jab at Sandra.

"Well, Sandra knows that you're a little…no, really messy."

"Ah, I don't mind." Jude turned away from the coffee pot with a hot steaming mug of plain black coffee for Tom. "Just how you like it." Smiling at him.

"Thanks." He took it from her hands and took a sip, "You feeling better?"

"Much. You were right, I was just tired. It was a long day…and today is going to be the same way. After I eat I need to head down to G Major for a little bit, you don't mind staying here, do you?" She brought three plates full of a delicious looking food out to the small table.

"Not at all, I can show Cora around or we can stay here. But don't worry about us." Tom smiled at her as she turned back to get three glasses and a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator. Jude had changed a lot too. She was so…domestic right now. Cooking breakfast, taking care of Cora occasionally...he was falling in love more and more with everything she did.

Jude ate rather quickly as she needed to get down to the studio to take care of a few things, and Tom told her to leave the kitchen, that he would take care of it once they were done. "Ah thanks, you're the best." And without thinking, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek before running off to shower and leave.

He didn't say anything about it, but it didn't go unnoticed by Cora. With the shower running and feeling it was safe to talk, Cora looked at her father for a second. Her head tilted as if she was in deep concentration, "Daddy?" She finally asked.

"Mmmhmm?" He swallowed the coffee he was drinking.

"Do you love Jude?" Thankfully, he had swallowed because he inhaled so sharply he was sent into a fit of coughs. Once they subsided he tried to compose an answer for her without giving her too much hope. "Um, well….I care for her a lot. I always have." He nodded to himself, pleased with the response.

Cora nodded, taking in what he told her. "So, is she going to be my mommy?" Her tone surprised Tom. It wasn't hopeful or anything of the sort, just blank interrogation. Like asking why she should drink milk or another pointless piece of information.

He smiled at her weakly. He wanted nothing more than that, if he had to be completely honest. "We'll see what I can do." Cora liked her, he loved her. Now she just needed to love them back.


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: The song used is by Sting, "Big Lie, Small World" a great song.**

Sadie had the day off and was more than willing to help out in any way; she would be watching Cora as Tom ran a couple of errands. But errands made it sound like going to pay the water bill. This was a bit more than the water.

It had been years since his Boyz Attack success, but every time he went out in Canada, he donned a baseball hat and his usual sunglasses. There would always be some crazy thirty year old woman who would completely lose her composure and start screaming like she was still a teenaged love sick teeny bopper. He would rather avoid that situation all together, especially as he headed towards the jewelers. As he entered the small boutique, he pulled off his sunglasses but left the hat on, not really looking anyone in the eye but just browsing the selection of diamond rings.

"May I help you sir?" Tom looked up to see an older man dressed in a crisp blue suit.

"Yes actually," Something had caught his eye while he was browsing. "Can I see that ring?" He pointed as best he could through the glass.

"Quite an eye for the extravagant, sir?"

He smiled at the man, "Not particularly, but it just seems right."

The suited man smiled and nodded. "I hear that a lot." He unlocked the display and pulled out the tray with the ring Tom eyed. The diamonds sparkled under the lighting in the store. All the rings were beautiful, but this one just seemed like it was it.

"Here you go." The man took the ring from it's holder and gave it to Tom to look over. "This particular one is set in a platinum band, three diamonds, each with an eight sided cut. It's three fourth's of a carat…which I believe is enough to be impressive but not gaudy." The man winked at Tom and they shared a chuckle.

"I think this one might be it…" he inspected the small ring in his hands, the diamonds catching the light with each turn.

"Might?"

He looked up from the ring, "No, it is." He smiled and handed the ring back to the attendant to box it up and purchase it.

With the ring placed in a small individual velvet box; it seemed to gleam even brighter against the rich black fabric. With the diamonds safely nestled in its safe hold and the decent fine paid for, Tom pocketed the ring and left the store just as he had entered it, seemingly empty handed. His next stop was to an old friend of his, she would appreciate the visit and he would hopeful start to settle down.

* * *

_I sat down and wrote this letter  
Telling you that I felt better  
Since you'd gone and I was free  
I'm so happy_

_I have so little time to spare now  
I'm wanted almost everywhere now  
I make out like Casanova  
Friends are always coming over_

_I signed my name as if I meant it  
Sealed it with a kiss and sent it  
The letter had improved my mood  
Happy in my solitude_

Despite her being in the middle of recording and doing a fantastic job as usual, Kwest felt the need to interject. "So I can't figure you out," He paused for a second before continuing, as if trying to figure this out on his own. "What vibe are you trying to send your poor listeners? I get 'oh golly, I'm so twitter patted with love'," Kwest mocked her with a strained falsetto, "then next you're angsty hardcore rocker chick, and now today you're all Destiny's Child on me with independence."

"I….UGH! I hate this." Jude slumped against the music stand in front of her. "I don't know what to do!" She let out a groan of frustration, she was as confounded as Kwest was.

Kwest turned off the mic in the room and got up from behind the soundboard and walked into the booth with her. He leaned against a wall and observed her collapsed frame. She should be bouncing off the walls with energy right now on a high from Tom's visit, but all he was getting was an old song about independence?

"Okay rockstar. What's up?"

"Can you keep a secret?" She looked at him, biting her lip and looking unsure if she could genuinely trust him with this.

"Of course, you can always trust me."

"No…really. Like, you can't tell Sandra, Sadie, Tom…especially not Tom. No one" her big blue eyes burned holes into him as she pleaded with him to keep her secret.

"You got it. I say nothing."

"Okay…" She took a deep breath and slid off her favorite stool and started to pace around the room like a caged animal, "It's just that…have you ever felt like something was right, practically perfect, but you were going to be the one to screw things up?"

Kwest chuckled to himself as he remembered himself sitting in front of a mixing board at Jude's second CD release party. Sadie was beside him, and they were precariously flirting with each other before he took the chance and gave her the flowers he had picked up earlier. 'I don't date industry guys' was all that she said to him. She was his best friend's ex. And from the unspoken rules between men, she was definitely off limits. Even knowing that full well, he still couldn't help himself. Sadie never really meant anything to Tom and Kwest wasn't about to let this chance pass him up.

"Yeah…that's how it was with Sadie, but look at where we are. Commitment is a scary thing Jude, but someone has to be willing to take the plunge first. Who's it gonna be?"

"How do you know when it's time though? And how far you're willing to go? This morning…was so right. I love that little girl, I really do. But…getting involved with him means getting involved with Cora. Not to mention they're in Miami. I would have to leave my friends and family here to be with them. We could try a long distance relationship but that'll never last. And I just don't know if I'm ready to play house yet. It's fun when it's just pretend but to have to do it for real? I just…don't know if I could handle something like that. I'm not exactly all about vacuuming in high heels and slaving over a stove waiting for my husband to come home so I can dote over him" Jude stopped pacing and slumped against a wall, crumpling to the floor in a mass of confusion and anxiety. She rubbed her face with her hands and eventually looked up, waiting and hoping for sage words from Kwest.

"If you were like that, you wouldn't be a part of this business. You'd be going to college getting your MRS's degree." Kwest got up from his place in the room and walked over to Jude who had never seemed so unsure of anything before. "He loves you, you know. He loves you like he never knew he could love someone before."

Jude looked up at Kwest, perplexed at how he would know something like that. They really hadn't been in touch since he left. "Don't give me that look. This was way before he left, probably even before you two were together. He would just…look at you differently. It's fate Jude, don't piss off fate." He patted her leg before getting up to go back to the mixing table. Before he walked out of the room he looked over his shoulder, "If you want to keep going, just let me know, but we can call it a day if we need to."

"Thanks Kwest…I just need a couple of minutes."

"Sure thing, let me know when you're ready. He left her took the silence of the room. There were some days where she wished she could have anything she wanted. And if that ever came true, on those days she would wish to never have to leave the studio. Particularly, never have to leave this room. It was safe. She was completely isolated and protected. No one could hear her scream if she had to, they couldn't get to her if she locked the door, it was a solitude she never really had anywhere else.


	27. Chapter 27

The office space was quaint enough. It was designed to look like a small home on a hill, which…it was. Valerie had done a spectacular job of fixing it up herself, he had helped occasionally though. That was when he could muster up the strength to tear himself away from the studio.

He climbed up the steps to the front door, and as he pulled the screen away and opened the solid oak door, a small bell rang above his head. He could remember their argument as they hung it together, so many years ago. Soft music was playing over speakers throughout the house and he surveyed the room he was in for any changes since he had last visited. He scanned the room and saw none.

The walls were a deep burgundy with heavy, rich gold drapes and ornate furniture flanked the walls. It was all very pompous and baroque inspired. Looking towards the ceiling, crown molding helped to frame off the picture perfect room. It seemed like the room was only for show, but he would bet a fair amount of money that many deals and contracts had been signed and sealed in this very room.

"I'll be with you in a second!" A voice came from another undisclosed location. She was sounding a little off of her game today, but everyone had their off days. A woman close to Tom's age appeared through an archway in the wall. The click of her heels gave her away sooner than he saw her though, and as she appeared, she was busy looking down fumbling with the button on her tailored suit jacket. A couple of strands of hair fell loose from their pinned prison atop her head. As she went to smooth them back, she looked up and caught sight of a ghost. Her eyes widened and he just smiled at her, his hands deep in his pockets and he shrugged, rocking back on the heels of his tennis shoes.

"Get out." Her voice was full of excitement and she advanced towards him, the clicking of her heels against the wood floor drowned out the soft flowing melodies of Enya in the background. Before he realized it and could stop her, she stood right in front of him and grabbed the apple of his cheek between her thumb and forefinger, pinching hard.

"Ow!" He scowled and smacked away her hand.

"What the hell are you doing here Tom Quincy!" The petite woman flung her arms around his neck, nearly knocking the two of them over.

"Val…Val…VAL, you're choking me!" He gasped out, his lungs searing for much needed air.

"Right…right." Valerie pulled herself off of him, regaining her composure and smoothing down her brusque black jacket and skirt.

"Oh my god, it's like…you've been gone forever, and yet…I just saw you yesterday when you were trying to hang that stupid bell. Would you be hurt if I took it down?" She looked up at the annoyance, concentrating and trying to make it disappear by sheer willpower.

Tom feigned and expression of hurt and betrayal before laughing at her. "By all means, it was such a pain in the ass, I don't even care."

"So…come in! Come in!" She pulled him further into the small business world of hers thrown into a seemingly mock-up home.

"Is there anything I can get you?" She motioned towards the stocked fridge while he took a seat at the small table in the nook of this pretend kitchen.

"Just a water, thanks…this place, looks just the same."

"Yeah, I didn't want to change a thing. It's perfect just the way it stands. Here you go." The cold bottle started to sweat with condensation after just moments out in the new ambient air, the bottle dampened his hand as he unscrewed the lid and took a sip.

"So…why are you here? I mean, wow, it's great to see you, you look great…but Tom, it hasn't exactly been just a couple of weeks."

"I know, it's a really long story, and one day…I promise to tell you all of it, once I figure out how the ending goes. But right now, I need your help."

"Oh yeah?" She raised an eyebrow and took a sip of her sparkling water.

"You remember the conversation we had before I left? About the potential prospects? Well I was wondering if any of those were still available."

"Hold on…let me go grab my computer and I'll see." Valerie scurried out of the room before quickly returning with a slim black computer case. She hastily unzipped and unlatched all the safeguards and slipped out a streamlined laptop.

"You seem to be doing quite well for yourself."

"Well you know, I try." The laptop was powered up and running within seconds. "Okay, don't laugh at me, but I had all of the specs saved."

Tom chuckled to himself, trying to hide it from the woman as she worked behind her screen. "I said don't laugh!" But she failed at containing her own laughter and joined it with him. It was so good to see him after all of this time.

"Okay." She clicked away at her computer, her fingers moving seamlessly over the smooth keys. "So, most of the ones you were interested in are gone. What can I say, booming market. But there are a couple that we can still check out, and there are some new ones that have opened up, if you'd be interested in looking at something new?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Thank you for helping me out, Val. It really means a lot." He gave her a genuine and grateful smile.

"Helping you out? Yeah. But I'm slightly influenced, I mean, can you imagine the commission I'm going to make off of you?" She scoffed and winked at him.

"Ha! Of course, that's all I am to you people, walking money." Their banter was nothing other than friendly and joking. It was nice to finally have that back in his life again. It was just another thing that solidified the idea that this was the right thing to be doing.

"At least we're honest?" Valerie smiled sweetly at Tom as they got up and left the table. With a couple of papers in hand with directions and various information, she grabbed her keys off of the hook in the kitchen and led him out to her car.

"So, I know this is no Viper, or Porsche, or Hummer…but you think you'll survive in something more modest?"

"I drive an SUV now, a regular, safe…SUV." He nodded solemnly. Valerie looked indisputably shocked. "A regular SUV? not gas guzzling imports? I can't wait to meet the girl who turned you on to that."

A wide smile crept across his face as he climbed into the energy efficient compact car. "I'll make sure of it. She'd love to meet an old friend of mine. But hey, I don't have a ton of time left before my absence is noted."

"Onward and upward. I was thinking going out to that cute little community Water Vista and checking out a colonial…" Valerie continued to ramble on while Tom drifted away while looking out a window. So many life altering decisions to make soon. He left his nerves welling up from the pit of his stomach and tried to quash them as he used to back in his boy band days. He had become a master at hiding his emotions towards people who didn't know him, but there were times. Small glimpses and instances where when a loved one looked into his eyes, they could see straight to his heart.

Valerie maneuvered the small car out of the driveway and onto the main road to help Tom make another crucial, life altering decision.


	28. Chapter 28

A secret had never been so hard to keep before. He didn't have the solace and trust of anyone at the moment since he learned and pieced together the deceptive web his friends and reacquainted friends had networked. They took great pleasure in scheming and plotting behind his back. He wasn't mad at them, but knew this little gem of information would get spread around faster than a Floridian wildfire. This secret he would have to hold on his own.

The space was barren and he aimlessly wandered around. Opening, closing, and reopening doors, cabinets, and linen closets. Over and over again he made rounds in the empty space. He imagined barbeques in the backyard during summer holidays, Cora coming in, bundled up like a little Eskimo from the dead of winter, cooking breakfast on Saturday mornings for his family. The thoughts and possibilities swirled around in his head as he continued to walk. The stairs gave a slight creak as he walked up them, his hand running along the smooth banister that ascended and led him to the second floor landing. He could almost imagine a baby gate blocking off the stairs at the top and bottom.

Normally, buying a house was a long process, haggling, a middleman, the list went on. But the couple selling the house was more than shocked when Tom took up their initial offer. It was probably inflated, but he didn't care. He now stood in the master bedroom. This was now his. It shouldn't have left him with such a feeling of excitement, but buying this house meant more to him than his house back in Miami. This seemed so settled. Permanent. The calm silence that filled the house was broken as his cell phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi Daddy!"

Tom's entire face lit up at his daughter's cheerful voice, "Hi honey, are you having fun?"

"Yup! Jude took me to the mall, and we're still here."

"That's good. You're behaving, right?"

"Yep! Here's Jude, I love you!" He heard talking between the two as the phone was passed before Jude spoke.

"Hello?"

"Hey there. Thank you for doing that, she needs things like that occasionally."

"Oh no problem, I love the fact that I have someone to spoil right now." There was a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Hey now! Don't get her too used to it." His voice echoed and boomed in the empty room.

"Um…where are you? It sounds like you're in a tunnel."

"Oh, just out and about. I thought I'd go and see my old stomping grounds, ya know." He didn't like to lie to her, but this wasn't so much a lie as…holding out for a little bit. He had unconsciously pulled the small black box out of his pocket and opened the lid while talking to her. The ring hadn't left him since he purchased it. He dealt with the searing desire to ask her every second he was around her and holding it, but it was better than her finding it inconsequentially and ruining the surprise of it all. The diamond still sparkled bright and gleamed as their conversation continued.

"Uh huh…Well hey, I'm gonna let you go so I can spoil your angel some more but I'll see you back at the apartment later?"

"Yeah, definitely. But oh, tomorrow, how would you feel about dinner?"

"Dinner?" The smile was evident in her voice. They hadn't been on a real date yet.

"Yeah, dinner."

"That would be…nice. Yeah." She was nodding her head, grinning uncontrollably.

"Alright, it's a date then. I'll talk to you later. Bye, Jude."

She flipped the phone shut, and put it back in her bag before grabbing Cora's hand. "We have another stop to make before we head home darlin'. I have a date with your dad tomorrow night." The duo skipped through the mall, hand in hand as they headed to a small boutique for a drop dead gorgeous outfit for Jude.

* * *

Cora didn't always have the most patience, but she had been still as a stone for the past hour and a half as Jude worked her way through the store. She sat on the plush, overstuffed chair in front of the dressing room door, occasionally bobbing to the trendy music that could be heard throughout the store and giving as much help as she possibly could for a six year old. After all, she wanted her Daddy and Jude to be together as much as the next person.

The heavy velvet curtain slid to the side again and Jude came out for the seventh time. This time she was wearing a long black sleeveless tunic that had iridescent detailing over one shoulder. The shirt was worn over a pair of dark wash blue jeans.

"So?" Jude spun in a circle and stuck a pose. "Whaddya think?"

Cora sat there and contemplating it before giving another emphatic shake of her head. "No." Jude looked at the girl, mouth agape. "You're driving a hard bargain here. I might never find something!" The shared a laugh before Jude trudged back into the dressing room, one outfit left to try on.

Jude was a unique type of girl, she would take several outfits into the dressing room, but she saved the one she thought would be perfect for last. She liked to give the others an equal chance at being the one for her. She picked the dress off of the hanger and slipped it over her head, adjusting the fabric while looking critically at herself. She had done it again, this was the outfit.

Making a grand entrance after dramatically sweeping aside the dividing curtain she struck another ostentatious pose and Cora giggled behind her hands. "Am I done now?" Jude smirked at her.

"Yep! Daddy will love that!"

"Good." She spun around a couple more times, checking every angle of the dress. The dress itself was black with a unique haltered neckline, but the dress was inspired by the 50's and Stepford Wives ideals. All pretty ironic for Jude, but this was the dress. There was no doubt about it.

Jude went back to change into her clothes and hung the garment back on the wooden hanger. Bringing the dress to the register, the cashier smiled down at Cora before looking at Jude, "What a pretty little girl you have there." Jude looked at her in shock and coughed a little.

"Oh, what? No. She's not mine. She's a friend's daughter. Just having a girl's day out. That's all." She was rambling. She had a tendency to do that when she was caught off guard.

Cora just smiled, ignoring Jude's adamant denial of involvement with Cora's life. "Jude's going on a date with my daddy!" She smiled broadly and Jude turned a deep shade of crimson. She could only nod her head slowly and click her tongue. You could always count on Cora.

"Is that so?" The associate looked down at Cora again with a knowing grin on her face, "Is that what this dress is for?" Cora bobbed her head up and down. "Do you think your daddy is going to like the dress?"

"Yep! Jude's pretty in it, Daddy's going to like it a lot!"

"Well," The sales associate slipped the dress into a garment bag before handing it over to Jude "I hope you have a lovely evening, Ms. Harrison," And she looked back at Cora "you picked out a beautiful dress, and I bet your daddy will love it. Have a great day you two." She waved them off as they left the boutique, their day of shopping finally complete.


	29. Chapter 29

Getting ready for their imminent date was slightly awkward and most definitely backwards from usual date events. You usually see the personally fully dressed before you see them walking around the living space in a robe. Alas, they were born to be different.

Jude was in the kitchen with her hair damp and wrapped up in a towel with a robe tied tightly around her body. She leaned against the counter top as she waited for a kettle to come to a boil so she could fill her cup and steep her tea.

"You look just about ready for a night in." Jude jumped, startled at his voice and turned to look at him. Her breath caught in her throat as she couldn't help but stare at his shirtless frame. He walked into the kitchen and towards the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of water. He walked up to her and leaned against her while reaching for a cup out of the cabinet above her head, starring down and smirking at her. "Can I help you?"

"You could start by getting off on me…shit! …off of me." Jude covered her face in embarrassment just as the kettle whistled, signaling the water was done. Tom stepped aside with a Cheshire like grin on his face. "You know what they say about Freudian slips."

"No comment, I'm just going to take my tea and I'll see you when I'm ready to go...to leave." Everything she said seemed to mean something else now. Flustered, she poured the boiling water into her cup and left the kitchen as fast as she could without scalding herself with the hot water in the mug.

Tom watched her retreat to her room, she was out of site as she rounded the corner to the hallway and disappeared with the door clicking shut behind her.

In her room, Jude set down the cup of tea and her reflection caught her attention, or more so the fact that she was bright red. 'At least red matches with black?' She unraveled her hair from it's terry prison and it fell across her shoulders already forming it's naturally perfect curls. She reached for a container with product in it and pumped some into the palm of her hand before smoothing it through her hair.

She moved on to her makeup as she sat down at her vanity, smoothing on a sheer foundation. She always felt like she was painting a picture when she applied her makeup. There was the ever important blank canvas, virgin and smooth. From there, she lightly applied a porcelain looking powder with a large pouf, giving her a finished doll like appearance. Now that her canvas was picture perfect, she reached for a smoky grey eye shadow. Painting it on her lids with ease, she was transforming into a sultry temptress while maintaining her usual, and at times deceiving look of innocence. She lined her eyes and applied a sheer nude gloss over her lips. Smiling at herself, she knew she looked fantastic. Standing from her vanity, she walked over to the closet where the garment bag hung. She unzipped it and took the dress of the hanger, laying it on her bed before going to her dresser and rummaging through her undergarments. She found what she was looking for, a pair of black slinky bottoms. She slipped them on under her robe and pushed the drawer shut.

She untied the knot around her waist and slid the robe off of her shoulders exposing her body to the slight chill of the room. She reached for her dress and let it fall over her head, perfectly in place. She smoothed out the skirt before stepping into a pair of black peep toe pumps, and grabbing her clutch sitting on top of the dresser. With one final look over in the mirror, Jude was ready to go.

Her heels clicked against the wooden floor and she walked into the living room to see Tom sitting next to Cora, and beside Cora on the floor was a backpack of hers looking rather full. Apparently he was taking care of everything this time.

The sound of her heels on the floor caught Tom's attention and he turned around, seeing her for the first time. She looked more beautiful and radiant than he had ever seen her look before. The dress she was wearing flattered her body and accentuated every curve. She looked away from his scorching gaze shyly. "Hi…" was all she could get out, studying her shoes.

"Jude, you look beautiful." He got up off the couch but stood awkwardly before her. Cora broke the silence between the two "I'm ready!" She was oblivious to what was happening between them, her backpack now strapped onto her back.

Jude laughed at her, "Sure does look like it!" She was silently thankful for the interruption. "I guess we should get you off to Sadie and Kwest, huh?"

"Yep! Let's go!" She grabbed both Tom and Jude's hands and pulled them to the door, eager to see Sadie and Kwest, but more excited about her father's date.

The ride was short but seemed longer than it was as Tom and Jude were quiet and Cora chatted away in the back of Jude's car, as it was the only one with enough seats. They pulled into the driveway and Tommy started to unbuckle his seatbelt before Jude stopped him "I'll take her" and hopped out of the car before he could protest.

She opened the door for Cora and grabbed her backpack. With it thrown over Jude's shoulder and holding Cora's hand, the two girls walked up the sidewalk to the house. Jude rang the doorbell standing on the porch waiting for someone to answer it. Sadie opened the door and greeted them.

"Hey guys! Come in."

"Actually, I should probably go." Jude look apprehensively back at Tom but he seemed to know what Sadie had asked of her, he flicked his hand telling her to go in and socialize for a few minutes before they left. Once the door was closed behind the three of them he took the opportunity to pull out his cell phone and call to make sure everything was being taken care of and would be ready for their arrival.

"Yes sir, everything is going well, and we will be ready and out of the space by the time you arrive."

"Great, thanks for working everything out. I understand that the situation isn't exactly considered normal." Tom said his goodbyes and hit the end button on his phone. On the other side of the door, the girls were conversing before Jude left for her night out.

"So thanks for taking Cora, really, it means a lot." She leaned in and hugged her sister.

"Oh no problem, it's good practice." She turned and saw Kwest entertaining Cora, a faint smile on her face.

"Practice? Sades…" Her older blonde sister turned around and nodded excitedly, a huge smile breaking out across her face.

"Oh my gosh!" Jude gawked before jumping and squealing as the two girls shared a moment. Jude pulled Sadie into a crushing hug congratulating her. She pulled away and held her at arms length. "When did this happen?"

"Um…you remember that night you were out with Tom in Miami?"

"Kay…you're done. That's all I need to know."

"Hey! At least you were out of the room." Sadie playfully hit her sister. "But you should get going. I'm sure your prince eagerly awaits." Sadie ushered Jude out of the house and waved to Tom from the door.

Once Jude got back inside the car she smiled over at Tom as they pulled out of the driveway and got back on the road to their destination.

"What has you all smiles?" He looked at her from the corner of his eye as he drove on the freeway.

"Um…Sade's is pregnant."

"Really?" Tom sounded genuinely surprised but happy.

"Yeah, crazy right?"

"Definitely not expected. I'm surprised that Kwest didn't mention anything before, but good for them. They'll be great parents."

"Yeah…they will be. So…you gonna tell me where we're going?" Jude looked out the window and the scenery was sparse and not familiar in the least.

"Nope, it's a surprise." The rest of the drive was in a decent amount of silence but it was comfortable for the both of them. His hand reached over and covered Jude's as they continued to drive in silence with only the sound of the radio in the car.

Another twenty minutes had passed, and they were getting into a suburban area. "Uh…Tommy?"

"Never fear, I want to show you something." He maneuvered the car through the winding streets of the area. He had obviously been here before. As they pulled into the driveway of a house, Jude was more and more perplexed. Tom turned off the engine and got out of the car, lightly jogging around to her side and opening the door for her like a true gentleman. He extended a hand towards her and helped her exit the car.

"So…you want to tell me now?" She looked at him, her eyes begging.

"Nope." He smiled as she pouted in frustration. "Come on, I want you to see this." They walked up the sidewalk, and he pulled a single key out of his pocket, slipping it into the lock, he turned the key and opened the door. Jude, guided by Tommy's hand on the small of her back entered the dark room, slightly unsure of her footing being in the unfamiliar house. With both of them over the threshold, he closed the door behind them and groped the wall for the light switch. Finding it he flipped it and flooded the room with light.

"I still don't get it…it's an empty ho- oh." She turned towards him, cocking her head and searching his eyes to see if she was right. He nodded with a smile on his face.

"But…everything Cora knows is in Miami, and Sandra…"

"Cora wants to move up here. Sandra, I can talk to her. Don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy this, alright?" Jude nodded, "Yeah." She smiled at him and he led her further into the house, coming into what would eventually be the dining room, the sight before her almost brought tears to her eyes.

"Oh Tommy…"

There was a small intimate table set for two, lit by candle light with a single red rose in a vase between the two seats. There were two plates with delicious looking, steaming hot food awaiting them. He pulled out the chair for her as she took a seat.

Walking around the table, he seated himself and smiled at her as she looked around in awe.

"You can eat you know, it's there for a reason."

Jude smiled to herself, she was so amazing at all he had done for her. "Thank you, really, for all of this." She picked up her fork and looked down to see what was on her plate, giving a light laugh. "Of course. Tortierre." Tom casually shrugged and poured the couple each a glass of wine.

Handing her her glass, he raised his in a toast. "To second chances and us?" He spoke as more of a question than statement. A brief look crossed her face but was missed by him because of the dim candle light. She put a smile on her face and clicked her glass against his before taking a sip.


	30. Chapter 30

The candle's flame was low and hovered only a couple of inches above the crystal holders now. Jude's glass was running low again and she was tempted to pour some more dark red poison into it but refrained. She was still a bit of a light weight and didn't want to do anything stupid. Dinner had been fantastic and she had no idea how Tom has pulled it all of, but he did. He always seemed to do it all.

"Let me show you the house." They stood up and hand in hand, he walked her though the house describing what he envisioned for each room. She couldn't help but notice it was rather large even if Sandra did decide to stay with him and Cora.

"It's kind of…big, don't you think?" Jude looked around the spacious room that would eventually be Cora's as he had described to her.

"I see it as…a home to grow into. I'll be settling down eventually, so it'll have enough space and it just felt...right."_ It's your dream house._

"It's beautiful, really…really nice."_ It was the house I told you about._

"And downstairs has a great basement space that maybe will get turned into a studio. I miss that part of me. Having a space like that would be my dream." He trailed off, imagining having his own personal studio to work and have Jude record in.

Snapping back to reality from day dreaming about he grasped Jude's hands once more. "One more place to show you." They walked down the stairs and past their now cold table. He led her to a glass sliding door and retracted the flimsy hanging blinds before opening the door and exposing them to the balmy cool Canadian night. And as Jude stepped outside, he surprised her yet again.

A blanket and small picnic basket were set out and the backyard glowed with soft ambient lighting. Preparing to walk across the grass Jude used Tommy as support and removed her shoes, leaving them on the deck. As she stepped forward towards the blanket she was swept off her feet and in to Tommy's arms.

"You're crazy!"

"Mmm…maybe. Isn't that why you stuck around for so long?" He leaned in and kissed her lightly before gently setting her down on the soft fabric.

"Part of the reason at least…" Jude closed the small distance between them, standing on her toes to kiss him again, her arms wrapping themselves around him and her fingers entangling in his hair. He was the one to reluctantly pull away with a light peck on the lips and sat down to get the contents of the basket out. His hand brushed against the small velvet box. He felt like he was running a marathon and this was the last leg of it all. Leaving the ring in the confines of the basket he instead opted for pulling out two covered dishes of cheesecake, courtesy of the gourmet bakery in town. Handing her a plate and silverware, Jude took a bite and groaned with delight.

"Is there anything you don't remember?" He had purchased her favorite dessert, down to the variety.

"When it comes to you? Not really." He watched her enjoy the rich dessert, smiling. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the woman before him.

Jude felt his eyes on her, blatantly staring. "Yes Mr. Quincy?"

"Nothing." He replied lightly, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. He knew she wouldn't accept that for an answer. There was never a time in their history that she did.

"You know the last time you said that to me, I tackled you." She brought another piece of the dessert to her mouth and let the creamy confection melt on her tongue before swallowing it.

"Good point, again I say- nothing."

Jude set her plate down and crawled towards Tommy on her hand and knees before putting her hands on his shoulders pushing him back on the blanket. As she straddled him, the skirt of her dress rode up her thighs, exposing the pale, bare skin. She leaned in towards his ear and whispered "I always find a way to win." Her hot breath danced across his skin.

Their lips were inches away when he replied "That's not always a bad thing" and pulled her to him, closing the gap. He could taste the residual sugar as the kiss deepened and his tongue slid along hers sensually. They kissed as if they had all the time in the world. And at the moment, they did. Cora couldn't interrupt. Cellphones wouldn't ring. No one knew where to find them. They were two people together under the stars.

Ending the kiss, Jude pulled away and slipped off of Tom, lying next to him with her head on his chest. She felt his heart racing beneath her as they laid there under the stars the only noise coming from cicadas chirping away.

"Thank you for the evening Tom, it was perfect."

"Anything for you, Jude." The hands met and fingers laced resting on his stomach. His thumb unconsciously stroking her hand as he tried to muster up the courage to sit up and finally ask her the question of the night.

"No really, I mean, it's been so long since I've been out, and even then they were all looking for something. It gets tiring, everyone trying to get a piece of you. Something to take home as a souvenir. It's different with you."

Not that different right now…"I know what that's like. Publicity stunts, staged photo ops...it can get old."

"Not only that, but…I don't know. It's hard to explain," She snuggled up closer to his warm body before continuing "I'm just glad that we can be so committed,"

Tom smiled to himself, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, so committed to this...non-committed thing we have."


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: Which, I almost totally forgot about. The song is my new obsession and I'm glad I could fit in it. It's 'Over my head' by The Fray.**

His body went rigid with her latest confession. Okay. He knew she wasn't completely sure but her words resonated in his ears, _this non-committed thing we have_. They were more than that. He wanted nothing more than the stars to fall from the sky and end him at that moment. Committed to non-commitment. What did that mean exactly? He really had no one to blame but himself. Had he not left in the first place or at least told her where he was going…all of this could have been avoided. They would be spending the night together entangled in each others arms and the bed linens.

Jude noticed his sudden change in body language and tilted her head up to look at him. "Are you okay?"

Was he okay. Like he could actually answer that question honestly at the moment. 'Yeah sure, um, but after your little confession about how you're afraid of commitment, I was wondering if you'd marry me. I have the ring, the house, the daughter. So…is that a yes?'

"Yeah, I'm fine." He gave her a weak smile and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "We should probably go though." He sat up abruptly, unintentionally rolling Jude to the side. She frowned at his complete one-eighty in personality but let it rest for now, not wanting to get into the argument that would inevitably arise if she pursued this right now.

"Um..yeah, I'd hate to get sick from a draft or something." She forced the blatant and sarcastic lie past her lips and collected herself, her legs neatly tucked beneath her as she reached for the two discarded plates of dessert, scraping her half eaten piece of cheesecake next to his untouched one. With the plates neatly stacked, she reached for the basket when Tommy abruptly yelled out "No!...I mean, no, let me get that from you." He snatched the plates from her hands and quickly shoved them into the picnic basket.

"Are you sure you're alright, Tommy?" Tommy. So what did she think of him right now?

"Yeah, fine." He picked up the basket and walked towards the house leaving her behind.

The basket was left on the countertop, and he swiped up her keys heading towards the door. Jude followed wordlessly with her shoes in hand and her brow furrowed at his demeanor. She hit the switches as she left behind each room and made her way out to the porch where he was waiting for her so he could lock up the house behind them.

The house turned cold in the dark with everything left in its spot. The dishes were frigid on the table for two, a blanket still spread out on the backyard lawn, and the ring was still discarded in the wicker basket perched a top the counter. The house might eventually grow to be a house of warmth and love but right now it held desolation and sorrow as Tom Quincy had so easily been shut down by the one who could have provided the love and caring touch to make that empty house a home.

* * *

Jude woke up, the feeling of cold was far too much for her to bear anymore and her body finally roused her to confront it. She found herself sprawled on top of her duvet still in her dress. And when she sat up, she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was askew and in every which direction. What was left of her make up was smeared in a rather unattractive way.

Last night had ended abruptly and not at all how she expected. She had high hopes of waking up to Tommy without a shred of clothing between the two of them. She wanted to be in his arms, warm and safe under the covers. Instead she woke up alone, confused, and a little hurt by the sudden turn of events.

Fully conscious now, she heard something coming from somewhere in the house. It was an unfamiliar melody and the voice was raw and unpolished unlike so many of the over produced radio edited tracks on the radio these days. Forgetting her appearance, she left her room. Her bare feet were against the cool wood floor as she naturally gravitated to the music from within her apartment.

She rounded the corner and leaned against the hallway wall as she focused on his back being turned to her. He had picked up her acoustic and was lightly strumming a melody, accompanying the free flowing notes with lyrics. It was a moderately up-tempo number, but as she carefully listened to the lyrics she realized the song was anything but upbeat and happy. Almost as if the tempo was the only way to get through it without having a mild breakdown or crisis in the middle.

_But that's how it's got to be  
It's coming down to  
Nothing more than apathy  
I'd rather run the other way  
Than stay and see  
The smoke and who's still  
Standing when it clears_

She had a sinking feeling that he was inspired like she used to be so many years ago. Something traumatic and rather tragic would happen, being the catalyst to the beginnings of an amazing, painful, hurt, and bitter song.

_Let's rearrange  
I wish you were a stranger  
I could disengage  
Say that we agree  
And then never change  
Soften a bit  
Until we all just get along_

If only she could open her eyes and realize what was going on. If she just had an inkling of how her words had cut into his heart, maybe, just maybe this could be okay and fixed. He could get down on one knee and as her to spend the rest of her life with him. But no, she instead questioned him without even considering her words and how they could have wounded him. At least he now knew that he didn't just hurt her. She also had the power and capability to kill a little part of him too.

_And suddenly  
I become a part of your past  
I'm becoming the part  
That don't last  
I'm losing you  
And its effortless_

_Without a sound  
We lose sight of the ground  
In the throw around  
Never thought that you wanted  
To bring it down  
I won't let it go down  
'Till we torch it ourselves_

As he sounded like he was wrapping up the song with the chorus in repetitions, Jude cautiously made her way over to where he was sitting on the couch. She lightly perched herself on one of the arms, pulling the wrinkled skirt of her dress over her knees, her arms wrapped around them and she rested her chin on the tops of her knees. He noticed her presence but didn't stop playing.

_Everyone knows I'm in  
Over my head  
Over my head  
With eight seconds left in overtime  
She's on your mind  
She's on your mind_

With his eyes locked onto hers, everything clicked. She had one of those stunning moments of realization where she just wanted to open her mouth and insert a foot._ Committed to this non-committed thing. _She had a remarkable ability to screw things up sometimes. As he sang the chorus for the last time, the final chords stuck resonated throughout the hollow sounding apartment. He didn't look away. Hell, he didn't even blink.

"Tommy…"

"No, really. It's okay." He set down the acoustic on the couch next to him before standing up. "I need to go pick up Cora, and you…you should shower and everything. Get out of that dress." He pulled away from her hold on him and grabbed his keys off the coffee table before walking out of the apartment without another word.


	32. Chapter 32

He rode over to the old Harrison household in silence. The radio was off and the only noise came from the air conditioning running on low. Her last words as they lay there on the blanket were still ringing in his head. Who says something like that and so obviously ruins a moment, a very clear, blatant moment like that? Only Jude could manage to do something such as that. And then, leave him so hurt that he actually picked up a guitar and played for the first time since he left Canada. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was two different people. No one could blame him though, he had to do some growing up and the Tommy that used to love to spend long nights in the studio with Jude had to die when he left for Miami. He had a little girl that he had to provide for, financially, emotionally. He had to be there.

He had been on auto pilot the entire ride to the house and was pulling into the driveway before he realized it. Stepping out of the car and closing the door behind him, he made his way up the walkway and knocked on the door. The door opened shortly after to reveal Kwest with a smile on his face that quickly faded. Tom looked rough. His jeans and white undershirt were wrinkled and his hair stood messily in every which direction.

"…So, not exactly the Tom I was expecting to see today. Where's the smile and afterglow of finally getting a night without Cora?"

"Someone shot it down before anything could even happen." Kwest looked at him surprised and curious as to what he did to screw up the night. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him so they two men could talk.

"Alright, so what'd you do to screw it up?" Kwest raised an eyebrow at his best friend and folded his arms across his chest.

"Me? What did I do? Nothing. What did she do? She killed me." He leaned against the porch railing and his head hit a support post a little too hard. A dull throbbing began to make a bad situation worse. "I believe the words she chose were 'I'm so glad we're committed, insert pause here, to this non-committed thing. Who knew I was one for 'things'" He shook his head in disbelief. He had accounted for everything, everything except for Jude shattering a moment and ruining the entire evening.

"She really said that?" Kwest was wide eyed at the revelation. He knew that Tom was her world, and the idea of her saying something like that to Tom baffled him. "I…don't know what to tell you man, I'm sorry though. You two were…are meant to be." The two men were standing there in silence when the door opened and Sadie poked her head her eyes moving back and forth between the pair, "You guys done out here?"

"Yeah, we are." Tom spoke up first, pushing himself up from the post he was leaning against and ran his hands along the sides of his jeans. "Cora inside?"

Sadie nodded and opened the door beckoning them inside. Though it was the same house that Tom had frequented during his reign as Jude's producer and Sadie's boyfriend, the look was completely different. The interior was rid of the flowery décor that Victoria had favored and it was much more eclectic in style and feel now.

Cora sat on the floor of the open living room and was busy tormenting a cat who for some unknown reason, wouldn't leave even as she pulled on it's tail to drag it closer to her.

Tom let out a tired sigh as he saw her torture the cat, "Cora…be nice to the poor animal."

Cora looked up and smiled sweetly at her father as if she had done nothing wrong. "Did you have fun, Corazon?"

"Yup! Sadie and I made ice cream sundae's and watched Sleeping Beauty. And Kwest told me that you knew Jude from before you came to be my Daddy all the time." Cora meant no ill will, but her words caused him to visibly flinch and he shot a menacing glare at Kwest who looked full of remorse and apologetic.

In attempts to diffuse the situation Sadie jumped in and asked Cora to go upstairs with her to get her bags, not giving her a chance to respond, she ushered her upstairs leaving Kwest and Tom alone again.

"I'm sorry man, she just asked me. I couldn't lie to her. And she's so smart, she put together that Sadie and Jude were sisters, and that you and I were friends. What was I supposed to tell her?" He gave his friend a pleading look, begging for forgiveness.

"It's…fine. She would have asked one of us." Cora bounded down the stairs with Sadie behind her.

"Be careful hun, the last thing I need is your dad hurting me because you broke an arm." Sadie shook her head at the little girl's constant enthusiasm. She ran to her father and hugged him around his waist. Tom looked down and smiled weakly. She was the one constant in his life, and regardless of how difficult she could be at times, she never failed to love him unconditionally.

"Well we should get going, something came up Cora, and we have to leave earlier than expected." She looked up at him and her face fell.

"Why?"

"Something just came up, don't worry about it. We'll be back." He stroked her smooth dark hair in attempts to cease her questioning.

He looked up at Sadie and Kwest who looked at him confused, "So…When do we get to see you again?"

"Soon, we just need to go home and pack up, make final arrangements and such."

"Pack?"

"Yeah, we're moving back." He shrugged nonchalantly as everyone's eyes widened at his admission, the two girls squealing in excitement.

"So I can see Jude all the time!" Cora flung herself at her dad again in a hug.

Tom couldn't help but smile at her innocence and purity. "Yeah, so you can see Jude all the time." His voice was sad despite the smile he forced on his face. She would be the driving force behind him and Jude. As much as he wanted to call it quits right now, some time apart would make things better, and would hopefully reveal his intentions to Jude.

* * *

Jude had left shortly after Tom, despite her ardent protests to Darius. He turned a deaf ear and went on about how the studio was time to work, leave her problems at the door, and some more ramblings about a new producer he wanted to break in with a seasoned pro.

She trudged into G-Major with a large paper cup of coffee from the coffee shop down the street. She was channeling and older Jude from years ago, her jeans and wife beater screamed as a remembrance of teenage angst and drama. She took no time on her appearance going into the studio, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and not a stitch of makeup to be found on her face. She must have been quite the sight.

Studio time went well enough, she was just there as an artist to help the new producer. She mostly got to joke around with Mason who was also there at the same time. On one of their breaks, the friends found themselves laying on the floor of the recording booth, her head on his stomach as they gossiped like two old hens.

"So…date, spill."

Jude gave out an annoyed sigh. "It was….perfect. Absolutely storybook perfect."

"So what's the problem?" He noted the annoyance in her voice despite how perfect she said it was.

"Me. I lose at life. I don't know why I did that, it was so…stupid."

"Woah, I'm going to need the full story before I can deem you a failure at life and all that is important."

"Well, he called me a couple of days ago while I was at the mall with his daughter. And he asked if I wanted to go to dinner. So I said yes, got a kick ass dress, then we get ready to go the next day, drop off Cora with Kwest and Sadie, we have the entire night to ourselves. He starts driving, and I have no idea where we're going and we end up at this house. It's the house of my dreams. Perfect, like, white picket fence perfect."

"Who's house?"

"Tommy's. He bought this house. The house of my dreams. It…freaked me out and endeared me all at the same time. I just….didn't know what to do."

"Okay, but everything still sounds good."

"And it was. He had dinner ready and waiting when we got there. It was so romantic and perfect. After dinner, he showed me around the house, it's huge, like…he's going to move in, have a family and die there huge. Then he takes me outside and surprises me again. There's a blanket set out under the stars and a picnic basket that had my favorite dessert in it. It's like he remembered everything important to me and put it into this date, and this night."

"And this is where you screwed up, eh?"

"Yes?" Jude squeaked out weakly.

"So perfect night, perfect man, and you then…"

"I told him that I was happy we were committed."

"So…where's the problem?"

"No, committed to this 'non-committed thing' I called it a thing. I wanted to die the next morning. It was terrible." She laughed at herself bitterly. "Like you said, perfect night, perfect man…and then me. Awkward, unable to commit, afraid of being hurt again me. I should be kept from society."

"You should realize what the hell you just did, apologize to him profusely and then again with sexual acts."

"I know. I'm such an idiot. And it was going so well…and Cora wasn't there…" Jude trailed off, imagining the possibilities of what could have happened before sitting up to look at Mason abruptly, "Did you know that I haven't had sex in three years?"

"I didn't know that was humanly possible." Mason's eyes widened in a mocking shock as he tried to stifle his laughter.

"I know! It's not that I didn't WANT to, oh God did I want to. But I just don't think before I open my big mouth. And then I say stupid things, and he gets all cold and distant. 'I'm fine'," Jude mimicked him.

"Wait, say that again."

"…he got weird and distant. Like, when I said that stupid thing that will never be repeated again his entire body went rigid. And then he brushed me off, saying we should get back home and stuff."

Mason nodded, assessing the situation. "And there was a basket?"

"Yeah."

"Oh Jude." Mason let out a low whistle "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

"Umm….embarrassed myself to a degree I might never recover from?" She nervously ran her fingers through her messy hair that was now down around her shoulders.

"Jude, he was going to propose." Mason bit his lip as the pieces fell together for him. Her eyes widened before she stood up and bolted out of the studio, snatching up her purse before running out of G-Major to get back home and try to apologize with the power of all the stars in the sky.


	33. Chapter 33

She had become a reasonably safe driver since her first driving excursion on her sixteenth birthday, but there were sometimes when you just had to throw caution to the wind and hope that no one was on the road to ticket her as she sped back to her apartment complex. This was one of those times.

She screeched into the first available parking space she saw and bolted out of her car running up the flights of stairs to her floor. Once she reached the apartment she fought with her ring of keys, searching for the correct one before jamming it into the lock and twisting it around, forcing the door open.

"Tommy, Cora! I'm home!" Her entrance was a little too 'I love Lucy' but she didn't particularly care at the moment. She was surprised that a little girl wasn't clinging to her legs by now and her brow furrowed in confusion as silence greeted her back.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Jude walked towards the bedrooms in the living space and peeked into the guest room that Tommy and Cora had been sharing. The bed was made and the room looked as if it had never been touched. Her concern increased when she noted the absence of their suitcases.

She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and tried to get a hold of Tommy, but his voicemail picked up without it even ringing once. "You've reached Tom's cell…" Jude snapped her phone shut without leaving a message and wandered around the apartment space, looking for some sign of why they just left. And if they would be coming back.

"I'm such an idiot…" She started to talk to herself and that was never a good sign. As she made her way to the kitchen, she noticed a piece of paper lying out on the counter top. The paper was decorated with a short note in his scrawl.

Jude,  
Had to leave to take care of the house in Miami.  
We'll be back soon though, you'll have to stop  
By for the housewarming party once we've  
Finally settled in.

-Tommy  
And Cora!

PS- don't bother trying to come down, we'll be back soon enough.

The last part, 'And Cora' was in her own childish handwriting and despite their abrupt departure which, regardless of what he tried to tell her, was because of Jude's own actions, Cora's small note made her smile.

She left the piece of paper to sit there and moved towards her own refrigerator when she noticed something that wasn't there before. A magnet pinned up a picture from a coloring page. It had come from Cora's princess book. The image was that of Cinderella and Prince Charming riding off in the sunset in their horse drawn carriage, except this Cinderella didn't have her usual blonde hair. The hair on this princess was fire engine red and both she and Prince Charming had startling blue eyes.

Jude pulled the drawing off of the refrigerator and studied it intently before speaking to herself again, "Oh Cora…what a smart little girl you are. If you only understood though." Instead of putting the picture back under the magnet, she set it down next to the note from the two of them and went back into the living room, flopping down on the couch. While pinching the bridge of her nose and grimacing, the reality of her mistake set in. It really took a special person to so completely mess things up. She reached for her phone again and dialed Tom's number again, "You've reached…" She didn't even wait this time and again closed her phone, resting it on her stomach as she contemplated her next course of action. She wasn't sure how ready she was to have him slip though her fingers again.

* * *

The trip back home had been uneventful and boring at best. Cora had been brimming with questions as to why they came home so abruptly and to placate her he told her that they needed to take care of things at home before they could go back to Canada. Permanently. He tried to explain all the details to her as easily as he could to her and as many times as she needed.

That he hoped to get back into producing and making music…that he had even done that to begin with. He left out Jude as much as he could but the girl brought her up on her own. She needed confirmation that she would in fact being seeing lots and lots of Jude once they moved.

"You worked with Jude before." Cora stated it, not so much in a questioning manner, but requiring an answer all the same. Tom focused on the road before him. She had been asking questions the entire plane ride home, and was only stopped by the busy Miami airport. Once they were situated in the car, her barrage of questions continued. He could see the web of facts that were being pieced together inside her little head.

"Yeah, I helped her with her music."

Cora quietly mused for a bit before her next question. "Did you like her then?"

Tommy took a deep breath before figuring out how to answer. There was no reason to lie, but he didn't really want to answer the next round of questions if he was honest with his daughter. His fingers drummed on the steering wheel and apparently he was taking too long to answer because Cora interrupted his thoughts, "Daddy?"

He shook his head and blinked away his hazy daydream like state. "Sorry Corazon." His voice was soft before he continued, "Jude and I…yes, I did like her when I was working with her, but things were different then."

"Did you date?"

This is exactly what he had wanted to avoid. He resignedly sighed out a 'yes.'

"So why isn't she my mommy?" Cora wasn't angry, just endlessly inquisitive. "Because Cora. She was too young then, and I couldn't ask her to give up her life to move away with me. It wouldn't have been fair."

"Okay" The trace of disappointment in her voice lingered in the car and broke Tom's heart. He wanted nothing more than the picture perfect family standing outside of their house, a picket fence and golden retriever. At the very least, barring his happiness, Cora deserved it. Sandra had done and excellent job, but Cora deserved and needed a mother.

The sturdy SUV pulled into the driveway of their soon to be former home and the sound of the garage made Sandra furrow her brow from inside the house. Maybe it was just the AC unit kicking in again. They both sounded so similar, and summer in Miami- you could rest assured that the AC would be working overtime in it's meager attempts to keep the house a palatable temperature.

Neglecting the luggage in the back, he jogged around the car and got the door for Cora just as she was unlatching her seatbelt. She clasped his hand before jumping to the ground from the elevated seat. Together they walked into the garage and through the door that led from the garage to the laundry room. They both kicked off their shoes and from the laundry room went into the kitchen to see a robed figure half hidden behind the open refrigerator door. Tom crossed his arms across his chest before clearing his throat.

"Ahem." Sandra jumped with start and hit her head. She gingerly rubbed the back of her head and peeked over the open door. Tom's eyes widened and he over dramatized stumbling back "Oh my God!" a smirk flitted across his face.

"Oh shut up." Sandra looked down at Cora and politely asked her to leave so she could beat up her dad. Cora giggled and bounded off to her room and own bed which she missed dearly. With Cora safely gone Sandra stared at Tom without blinking.

"What the hell are you doing home early?"

The smirk melted off of Tom's face and he sobered up. "Do you want the long or short version?"

"How much Vodka do you have in the liquor cabinet?"

"Not enough." He shook his head.

"Alright, I'll settle for the short version for now." Sandra jumped up onto available counter space and crossed her legs at her ankles waiting to be regaled with a story to explain her employer's early departure.

"Well, it was great, I bought a house, bought a ring, and then was shot down."

Sandra looked at him dumb founded. "Yeah, okay, I'm going to need more than that. House? Ring? What?"

"I was going to ask her to marry me, and so I bought a house up there. A house that we could live in, as a family. And when I went to propose, she gave me some line about being happy that we weren't so serious. Needless to say, she never saw the ring that night. And well, I came home. I wanted to talk to you about what to do with your employment, and put the house up on the market..."

"Wow…so you're still moving up there?"

"She didn't give me the chance to propose, but I'm not going to give up." He gave her a weak look of reassurance. "But…I wanted you to know what was happening so you could have the opportunity to decide if you wanted to stay here. I know you have family close by, or if you wanted to stay with us and move to the artic tundra." She chuckled at him. "Do I have to decide right now?"

"No, absolutely not. But let me know when you do decide, okay?"

She nodded slowly. This was a lot to take in all at once…and he was actually doing it, he was pursuing her. Hopping off of the counter, she took a couple of steps towards him and hugged him, her cheek resting against his chest.

"Hey! Watch it Wicked Witch of the West!" Sandra giggled and peeled her face off of his shirt, leaving a very green spot where she pressed her face against him.

"Oh wah wah, stop your belly aching." With that, she brought a finger to her other cheek and then smeared across Tom's face before sprinting off to her room and locking the door behind her before could catch up and retaliate.


	34. Chapter 34

He was getting tired of standing in empty houses surrounded or not surrounded by boxes. Everything had been moving so fast, his head was spinning and this twister of life had uprooted him from his home of three years and dropped in back off where he started. Where life as he knew it had begun- in general, his music career, life with Jude. And now here he was. It was coming full circle.

He wasn't exactly sure how hard it was to transport boxes from Miami to Toronto, but apparently, it was far more difficult than he originally assumed.

"So you mean to tell me, they're lost in what you like to call 'transit'?" He was having a hard time keeping the frustration out of his voice.

"Yes sir. Everything is on its way, it just got held up at a weigh station. There were some complications but the driver and your belongings will be on the road again shortly."

"Right, call me when they're moving again." Tom snapped his phone shut, disconnecting the call before he started to yell at the undeserving desk attendant from the moving company. It wasn't their fault that the driver who was transporting all of Tom's belongings was incompetent. With his phone conversation ended, he focused on the sound of small feet pattering around upstairs with the occasional bout of giggles.

His new home. Their new home. And hopefully, soon enough, her new home too. But that would be for another day.

"Cora!" He yelled up the stairs. He heard the pattering of feet long before he saw her emerge from a room and duck between two pieces of the stair railing.

"Yes Daddy?" Her smile was mischievous and her eyes shone brightly with youth and energy.

"How do you feel about pizza for dinner? We can have our own little picnic in the house. How's that sound?"

"Goood!" She stood up from her current haunched position and started running towards the stairs before Tom spoke up, "Cora, please, be careful." She slowed her pace and instead of bounding down the stairs two at a time, she took them one at a time, walking the rest of the way down.

Tom flipped open his cell phone again and dialed the number of his favorite local pizzeria by heart. Somethings just didn't change and he smiled to himself as his fingers mindlessly danced over the keypad. He placed an order with them and hung up to clear a space in the living room for the two of them.

Thankfully, some of their belongings had arrived in the smaller of the two trucks. A couple boxes of linens, dishes, the TV, and several suitcases and boxes of clothes were scattered at random in the living room. He opened a box marked 'comforters' and pulled out the top two, spreading them out on the wood floor.

Next, he tackled the TV, pushing it against the wall and connecting it so they would at least have some sort of entertainment tonight. He continued to straighten the boxes and move things around until the pizza was delivered. The rest of the night was spent on the floor watching sitcoms and eating the pie of pizza in front of the small family. Cora giggled away at the onscreen antics and managed to get sauce around her mouth.

"Hey, look at me a second." He laughed with her, trying to wipe it away with a napkin before she doubled over into another fit of laughter. "You're something else, you know that?" He tossed the napkin into the discarded box and the two spent the rest of the night on the floor together, laughing and goofing off until she finally quieted down and fell asleep curled up next to her father.

* * *

A few days worth of time and all of their possessions made all the difference to the house. Granted most things were still in boxes, everything was finally there. It felt like home. Almost. He, along with the enlisted help of Kwest lugged box after box up the stairs and into their respective rooms while Sadie kept Cora occupied downstairs or in the backyard.

"Man, what do you have in here?" Kwest was struggling walking up the stairs backwards as he desperate gripped the bottom of his side of the box.

"Books…move a little faster, I'm about to drop it."

"You read?"

"Shuddap or you'll lug this up the stairs yourself." Tom gave the box a forceful nudge in Kwest's direction. Reaching the second floor landing the carried the box down the hall to what would become to master bedroom. With the box finally on the ground Kwest has an opportunity to look around. "So when you calling in the interior decorator?"

"You know, I had considered it, but I think I might just hold off and wait." His eyes gazed around the space trying to picture what it would look like finally done and a comfortable living space.

"You have that stupid look on your face again."

Tom jerked his head towards Kwest who was smirking at him, arms folded across his chest.

"What look?"

"That goofy look you get."

"Shut up. I don't have a look."

"The one where your eyes get all hazy and you start thinking about Cora, which can only lead to one thing, a mother for her, which of course leads to Jude. And then you get all Nuclear family with your two point five kids, golden retriever, smiling and waving on your front yard behind the white picket fence. Man, you've changed." He chuckled to himself while giving a pageant wave to the blank walls of the room but quickly stopped with Tom's menacing glare, only to start laughing again when Tom cracked and smiled, "Actually, I was thinking of a chocolate lab, what do you think?"

"You're so whipped and you aren't even together yet." He clasped his friend on the back before the two of them left the room to take a small break downstairs.

In the kitchen Sadie and Cora stood side by side making lemonade and sandwiches with the food that Sadie had brought over for their barren refrigerator. The cool pitcher collected beads of condensation on the outside while Cora and Sadie made a miniature assembly line. Sadie smeared on condiments and Cora layered the deli meat and cheese, closing the bread and pushing the sandwiches away from her to start her process again.

Kwest went to Sadie and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lightly on the cheek before she squealed and tried to get away from his grasp, "eww, you're all sweaty, get off of me!" She playfully pushed him away before handing him a plate of food to distract him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek prior to happily munching away at the sandwich.

"So," Tommy started between bites, "Cora, all of your boxes are in your room now. We just have to unpack everything. Maybe paint some? You could pick a different color now if you want."

Cora jumped up and down in excitement, little squeals emitted from her mouth. "Daddy, can I go look?"

"Everything's still in boxes, Corazon."

"I know Daddy, but plleeaassee?" He shook his head at her but allowed her to go see before having her lunch. She started to run off, sliding around the corner in her socks before she heard her father yell after her 'slow down!' and she did, until she reached the stairs and bounded up them as fast as she could.

With the adults left, Tom leaned against one of the counters and eyed Sadie's barely noticeable belly. "So, when's the baby due?" A blush crept up her cheeks and she smiled, unconsciously putting a hand over her stomach.

"March."

"Well congratulations." His words were slightly bittersweet, seeing his two friends together and so happy about the family they were creating.

"Hey, don't look so sad. She's going to come around eventually. She's actually insanely nervous and excited to see you again."

He let out a sigh, "Yeah, I told her that I would call her once we were back and settled in. Guess I don't have a whole lot of time left, eh?"

"No, you should call her up. She realizes what an ass she was, and I really think she regrets it."

Tom looked surprisingly hopeful with the information that Sadie had divulged to him as he continued to chew on his sandwich until he heard a series of crashes as something tumbled down the stairs followed by a solid thud before everything went silent. Tom's eyes widened in fear as he froze.

"Cora?" With no answer, he threw down his plate and ran into the living room to see the little girl in a heap on the floor; small whimpers were the only thing she could manage to get out.

"Cora? Baby, talk to me, what happened?" He kept touching her gingerly before recoiling his hands, afraid to cause any further harm. She finally forced a whisper past her pale lips "I'm sorry Daddy."

"Don't worry about it baby, Does anything hurt, does your back hurt?" His voice was strained and he blinked back tears. Panic was setting in and he wasn't sure if he could keep his composure much longer.

"My arm hurts, I'm sorry…I shouldn't have run." Her eyes fluttered shut as she lay there, still and unmoving.

"Kwest! Get the door." Tom gingerly scooped up Cora into his arms and brought her out to the SUV where Sadie reclined the seat back just incase there was any spinal injury. With her buckled into the car, Sadie handed Tom the keys and he ran over to the driver's side and jumped in. The engine was started and he was driving away within seconds.


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Hi guys, so after a couple of cliff hanger chapters, I finally bring to you the completion of Mi Corazon. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it because it was definitely a lot of fun for me, and I love little Cora and Sandra. But yes, this is the last chapter which will be followed by the rather brief epilogue. Enjoy and reviews are always welcome. **

Hospitals always seem to move at the pace of molasses when you have someone who needs to be seen. Cora had been checked in with a great deal of speed seeing how she was still unconscious as he walked through the doors, her body limp in his arms as he approached the front desk. Between that and the pained expression Tommy Q gave the nurse, they were quickly sequestered in an exam room. However, now that they were back there, bureaucracy at its best took over and they had been waiting for what seemed like forever.

Finally, the door to their room was opened and a relatively young nurse walked in to check Cora's vitals and make a couple of notes on the chart after talking to a very anxious and frustrated Tom.

"Don't worry, the doctor will be in shortly to set her arm and get it in a cast, she's going to be okay though." He was given a reassuring smile before the nurse walked out again.

* * *

Sadie's phone rang from the depths of her purse and she almost missed the call from her little sister. 

"Hello?"

"Hey Sades, how are you?"

"I've been better, how are you?"

"Just about the same, but I called because I was wondering if you were up for a late lunch today. I haven't seen you in a while since I've been sequestered in the studio and I want to see how Momma Sades is doing."

Sadie bit her lip, unsure if she should tell Jude what had transpired or just leave it with she had already had lunch. Before she could fully rationalize either option, "Jude, you should probably know," came tumbling out of her mouth.

As Jude continued to drive back to her apartment, a thousand scenarios running through her head as to what her sister could possibly have to tell her, everything from she lost the baby, to her parents were back, her and Kwest had eloped…. "Is everything okay with the baby? Kwest? Mom isn't back, is she?"

"Woah, Jude, Jude…slow down. The baby is fine, Kwest is fine, and Mom…pfft."

Jude let out a tense breath, "Okay, so what is it?"

"It's Tommy. Actually, Cora. She was running around the house, and was coming down the stairs. I guess she slipped, she fell down the stairs and Tom rushed her to the hospital."

"What? Is she okay? Where did they go? When did this happen?" A wave of nausea came over her thinking of all the things that could have happened to a fragile six year old body. She could have injured her neck, oh God, what if she was paralyzed?

"It just happened, Kwest and I are still at their house, they went to St. Joseph's Memorial, and honestly, I don't know how she's doing."

"Sades, thanks, I'll talk to you later." Jude threw her phone on the passenger seat and at the next light made a U-turn and sped off towards the hospital. With minutes of maniacal driving she was pulling into an empty parking space and running into the emergency room. She scanned the room, in hopes to find someone to help her and settled on the front desk.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Jude huffed out between gulps of air. "I need some help finding someone."

"Alright, calm down and take a few deep breaths. Are you a family member?"

Jude knew where this was going, "No, but I really need to find them. Tom and Cora Quincy."

The nurse raised an eyebrow with the last name Quincy, so she obviously recognized who Jude was searching for.

"Listen, I know what this sounds like, I run in like a maniac looking for Tom Quincy, but I swear to you I'm not a crazy fan. Please, I just really need to see him. What if I call him? Can I go see him then?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but all cell phones are turned off upon entering the exam rooms."

"Okay, you're making this harder than it has to be." Her hand hit the counter in frustration before she ran her hand through her hair, pushing it back out of her face. "And there's no way you can tell me what room they're- never mind."

While anxiously scanning the room Jude caught a dark haired man in his late 20's talking to a physician in a white lab coat who grasped a chart in his hand. She left the desk ignoring the nurse behind it and walked towards Tom and the doctor.

"I want to explain to you the severity of you moving her like that. She could have had a serious spinal injury. You should have just called the emergency line."

"Yes, I understand that, but my daughter just fell down a flight of stairs. I can't exactly say I was completely there."

"…Had she hurt her neck, she could be paralyzed right now."

"Yes, and I understand that. What I don't understand is you berating me instead of telling me what all happened and if she's going to be okay."

"Because Mr. Quincy, I feel like you lack a true understanding of the damage you could have caused to-"

"Excuse me?" Jude spoke up, meekly at first causing a very annoyed Tom to snap around with his mouth posed to attack whichever nurse was interrupting his argument with the doctor. He stopped short when he saw a somewhat disheveled Jude standing before him. A grateful smile appeared before the doctor interrupted the two.

"And might I ask who you are?" His attitude still ever present and just as rude.

"I'm…" Jude glanced down at her shoes, had no valid reason to interrupt them and her voice was trailing off. Before she could stop it, she looked up at the doctor with a much malice as he had shown Tom earlier, "I'm his fiance, so if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to him about our daughter."

"I'm sorry," He backed off some, "Mr. Quincy if you need anything, I'll be at the front desk looking through charts." He walked off and his pompous attitude returned as he went to deal with the masses.

Tom looked at her confused, his head cocked with a faint smile on his face.

"What?"

She felt her shyness return under his gaze. She took in a deep shuddered breath before grasping his hand and pulling him into the closest exam room which thankfully, was empty at the moment.

"How's Cora?"

"She's going to be fine, scared me there for awhile. She was unconscious until we got her into the exam room, but she woke up. They said it was her body's way of coping with pain. She broke her arm, but other than that she'll be fine."

"Good…listen…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. For everything. I was an ass. There's really no other word for it. I was so stupid, and when Mason realized what happened for me…I couldn't believe it."

"Jude, don't apologize. You said it, so you probably meant it then."

"Tommy, no. Let me explain." She stepped towards him and held onto his hands again. "I never meant to say that that night, and it was stupid of me. It was just too much wine, and the fact that you scare me. You flat out terrify me Tom Quincy."

"I scare you?" He looked at her incredulously. "Well, it's not you that scares me," She released her grip on his hand and interlocked her fingers with his, closing the space between them. "It's just…I don't know how to see anything beyond you when I think about my future. Even when you were gone, I saw nothing, or I saw you. It wasn't exactly an easy thing to stomach after you had been gone for three years. Because it seemed like there would never be a you again….so instead, I saw nothing." Her eyes watered finally telling him everything that had rested on her shoulders.

Tom's eyes softened as she broke down before him. He pulled her into his strong embrace, stroking her hair and whispering "shh, don't cry."

She looked up at him with red brimmed eyes and she was still beautiful to him, "I meant what I said."

"I know."

"No, what I said earlier. I meant it…if you'll still have me that is."

Tom's brow furrowed as he tried to remember what she said earlier "I'm his fiance" finally ran though his head and he broke out into an uncontrollable grin before his lips swept down and met hers in a tender kiss. Jude lost herself and melted against him. Perfect. The way everything always seemed to be around him.

The exam room door swung open and startled the couple as a wide eyed nurse stood there unsure of what to do or say. Without needing any prompting, Tom grabbed Jude's hand and pulled her out of the room a look of embarrassment and entertainment crossing his face. "We can't get a break, you realize that?" They laughed together as he led her winding down hallways to his daughter's exam room. Hand in hand, they walked in and Cora's face lit up at the sight of the two most important people to her. "Daddy, Jude!"

"Hey there hun." Jude stepped forward towards the bed she was on. "How you feeling?" She brushed a few strands of stay hair away from her face and smiled down at Cora.

"Better now."

"Good. Oh, Cora? Thanks for the drawing." She leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "It'll go up on the fridge when we get home."

The End


	36. Epilogue

Jude rolled over in bed to find the other side surprisingly empty. Groggily rubbing the sleep from her eyes her hand groped the floor and the first thing she came across was a discarded dress shirt on the floor. Slipping it over her petite frame, she fumbled to button a few of the buttons not caring if they were matched up with their corresponding button holes.

Stumbling across the hallway she saw the light on in the room in the far end. She walked down towards it and saw Tom standing next to the crib watching the sleeping baby inside.

"Hey." Jude whispered from the doorway. He looked up and smiled at her before looking back down at the small infant. Jude yawned and walked over towards him and Joseph.

"He's so small." Tom commented. Everyday, he was more and more amazed with the growing baby, no longer afraid of caring for an infant like he had been beforehand. Most nights he regretted not going to Cora sooner so he could have shared this experience with his first child too.

"Did Jo wake you up?"

"No, I just couldn't sleep. I normally wake up and come in here anyways. Surprised you woke up."

"Come back to bed, Tom." She wrapped her arms around him and inhaled deeply. He reminded her of security and protection.

"I will…he's so small." He repeated again while leaning in and traced the sleeping infants small fingers.

"Um…may I remind you where he came from? He's not that small."

Tom turned to Jude and smiled down at her, "I love you, Mrs. Quincy." He leaned in to kiss her and Jude met him halfway. She sighed in contentment against his lips. "I love you too," she murmured, her lips skimmed along his jawline, "Now let's go back to bed. If he wakes up, Sandra can take care of it" She pulled away, a devilish twinkle in her eye.

"You're right," He stated seriously before continuing, "I obviously didn't tire you out enough earlier if you woke up."


End file.
